3 Reasons You Should Hire a Boutique PR Firm

One thing I hear in a lot of discovery calls with potential clients is that they’ve been burned by PR agencies in the past. Now we all know that there are two sides to every story. But a lot of times, a mistake people make is signing with a big agency. Yes, it’s impressive. Yes, they represent big names. Yes, they have a proven track record. 

But think about it. If they have big clients, those clients are likely paying big bucks. And they are getting most of the attention from the agency. If you’re a smaller operation or a solo entrepreneur, it makes a lot of sense to align yourself with a boutique agency. This is a small but efficient firm with a wealth of experience that really has the time to brainstorm angles and dig deep to find outlets that are a great fit for you. 

At Guide My Brand, here are some of the common reasons I recommend to potential clients that we’d be a great fit to work together:

• We only take on clients we believe we can be successful with.

When you’re looking at working with a big agency, most of the time they will take on anyone who can pay them a retainer. But the decision to take on a particular client is a different decision for a boutique publicity firm. Here’s the thing. There’s a lot of potential roadblocks when we’re working on getting publicity for a client. So at the very least, we have to feel that we can be successful. 

The first roadblock is timing. Is the contact receptive to the client’s expertise or have they just covered a similar topic? 

Then there’s what else is going on in the newscycle. Is it during election season, the Olympics, or is there big news that is really just taking over everything? 

Is the message right? Sometimes with clients, it takes a couple tries to figure out exactly what the media is going to bite on. 

With all these barriers already, it’s clear why it’s so important that we make sure that before we take on any client that we believe in their services, business, or book. And that we are confident that we can be successful with that client. Sure, everyone hates turning clients away. But it’s better to pass up front than to fail down the road. 

• You’re getting a team of experienced publicists.

A lot of times when you’re a smaller operation and you hire a big flashy agency, all the most experienced publicists are on the big accounts. While your campaign is still being managed by people who are fantastic at their jobs, the work itself is likely going to a junior publicist who is still cutting their teeth in the profession.

With a small boutique publicity firm, you often get the talent of the whole team, including the most experienced members. I have over twenty years of experience working in publicity and my team has experience in both publicity and journalism. We all actively pitch and play a role in your campaign. Our belief is that each of us has different expertise and ideas to bring to a campaign, so we divide and conquer. 

• You’re not competing with the rest of our client roster.

Our client roster varies, but in general,  as a boutique publicity firm, we have a diverse range of clients. While many of them are business leaders and entrepreneurs, they have their unique areas of expertise. So if we come across a reporter query on a topic in your area, chances are we are going to pitch only you. 

At a larger firm, they likely have multiple clients with similar expertise and when they are pitching, they will likely pick just one or two clients to pitch. And guess what? Those will also likely be their biggest clients. 

Have we convinced you yet that a boutique firm is the way to go? Still not sure? We’d love to chat with you and see if we are a good fit to promote your business or book. Schedule a free discovery call with us here.