Greentarget

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Executive leaders facing pressure to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) want more guidance on those efforts from their law firms and professional services providers—and say advisors must also do more to demonstrate their own DEI progress.

That’s according to Greentarget and Zeughauser Group’s first-ever State of DEI Content Report. An extension of our 2022 State of Digital & Content Marketing Survey, the report takes a deep dive into the increased demand for actionable DEI content among clients of professional services firms. Drawing on the perspectives of 200 C-suite executives and in-house counsel, the report uncovers what types of DEI content decision-makers are seeking, and the extent to which their outside firms are meeting those needs.

Our research also examines the hurdles that law firms and professional services providers face in advancing DEI initiatives at their own organizations. And we’ve paired this year’s DEI-focused results with practical guidance for marketers on how to navigate critical issues surrounding DEI to provide the guidance clients are seeking—and bolster their own DEI efforts, to ensure that content is authentic and credible.

We’re confident this year’s inaugural report will help legal and professional services organizations better understand and address their clients’ growing demand for more effective DEI content.

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The extraordinary upheaval of the past three years has reshaped the world, the workplace, and the way decision-makers consume information, sending the news cycle—and content creation—into warp speed. In this crowded environment, how can marketers create content that stands out from the noise?  

Greentarget’s 2022 State of Digital and Content Marketing Survey, developed in partnership with Zeughauser Group, delivers fresh insights for this new era of communication. The report is our 10th iteration of research into what makes content excel, and our first to do so since 2019.

We surveyed 200 top business executives and in-house counsel for this deep dive into how information consumption behaviors and preferences have changed—and what has stayed the same. Our report also provides practical guidance on how to utilize these findings to create the engaging, informative, and relevant content that decision-makers seek.

Here is a sampling of our key findings, along with examples of how Greentarget puts this knowledge into practice for our clients.

The Enduring Importance of Earned Media

In a volatile environment, executive decision-makers are looking for timely, practical, and trustworthy information to guide their business decisions.

Our 2022 survey found that C-suite members and in-house counsel still look to trusted editors and dependable, established outlets to tell them what matters. Respondents ranked traditional media nearly as important in 2022 as it was in 2019, with approximately 80% rating it somewhat or very valuable. Publications and websites specifically covering the respondent’s profession are also popular, particularly among C-suite executives, who ranked it as their most valuable content source.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a strong media relations strategy for reaching key audiences through the outlets they trust. Earned media is still the gold standard for credibility—and engaging with reporters can help raise your profile.

Case Study: Greentarget’s media relations strategy for Lathrop GPM earned more than 42 media results and 9 million impressions, including in key industry-specific publications, for its environmental and tort practice. The campaign led to new business inquiries, outreach from clients, and regular requests for insight from Bloomberg Law.

The Benefits of Effective Thought Leadership

When it comes to hiring outside law or professional services firms, decision-makers are finding thought leadership and credentialing activities to be increasingly important.

More than two-thirds of survey respondents cited articles and speeches from thought leaders as a critical factor in hiring outside firms, second only to recommendations from a trusted source. Nearly two-thirds of in-house counsel are also looking to thought leaders’ websites and blogs as noteworthy tools for researching outside firms, compared to just half in 2019.

A well-run owned media program can strategically deploy content creation to effectively establish your firm’s authority and expertise, attracting new business and generating additional earned media coverage. Insightful research reports, blog posts, white papers, and podcasts can help your organization stand out from the crowd.

Case Study: Greentarget leveraged the importance of thought leadership to establish Perkins Coie as the premier legal advisor in the AR/VR space. By developing the Annual AR/VR Survey Report, Greentarget secured more than 400 pieces of news coverage in leading national publications and fostered lasting relationships between partners and influential reporters.

The Accelerating Digital Shift

Executive decision-makers are more likely to visit websites, blogs, and webinars or other virtual events now than they were in 2019. When the pandemic put a sudden hold on conferences and in-person events—a key forum for gathering business intelligence—LinkedIn and virtual programming stepped in to fill the gap.

With webinar recordings available regardless of attendance or availability, the digital shift offers important advantages to increasingly busy C-suite members and in-house counsel who are looking for highly relevant, actionable content. Yet, despite the many online analytics and keyword research tools available to marketers, a lack of relevance remains the top reason why content fizzles with decision-makers.

With a nearly limitless virtual audience, create specific and tailored content personalized for the decision-makers you want to reach, rather than trying to compete with the noise in a crowded online environment.

Case Study: Greentarget worked with RBC Global Asset Management to take advantage of online distribution and engagement platforms for its Responsible Investing Survey. The campaign achieved 131 million impressions, with 5,500 views for the report; 3,500 views for the firm’s global responsible investment site, microsite, and ESG videos; and over 225,000 impressions and 2,000 click-throughs on paid and organic LinkedIn and Twitter posts.

The Need for Guidance in an Uncertain World

C-suite members and in-house counsel are also looking for more actionable guidance from law firms and professional service providers on the specific issues facing their business in this volatile period—particularly cybersecurity and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Fast-moving developments and rapidly evolving standards in these areas means that leaders need the most up to date and informed guidance.

Most of all, leaders want content with utility that explains what they should do with new information. But they also want content that’s “in-depth” and “technical,” offering granular analysis and expert recommendations that can help inform their operational decisions and outlook.

Case Study: Recognizing the growing importance of ESG to corporate decision-making, Greentarget helped Fenwick create a biotech-specific research report on how ESG reporting was affecting the industry. One Fenwick partner described the findings as “invaluable” to biotech clients, who had long sought this type of data on governance issues.

Communications in 2022 and Beyond

We found that executive decision-makers are increasingly looking to content from thought leaders to guide them—but not just anything will do. Marketing and communications professionals crafting strategies amid rapid-fire change need to understand how the past few years have shaped information trends, upended distribution channels, and altered preferences for both C-suite members and in-house counsel.

Check out the full 2022 State of Digital and Content Marketing report for more and stay tuned for our State of DEI report coming December 2022.

Still have questions, or are unsure how to break through to your target audience? We’re here to help.

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If you’re an executive leader whose organization is facing a current or potential lawsuit, it’s important to consider a very important question. How do you manage the tension between protecting your firm from liability and mitigating a hit to your reputation? 

Navigating a litigious event is daunting — and there’s plenty to worry about just preparing for the legal battle that lies ahead. On top of that, a lawsuit can also pose a significant threat to your firm’s public image. And since even the perception of guilt can cause you to suffer losses in valuation and revenue, the reputational risk that accompanies litigation can ultimately cause more harm to your business than the litigation itself. 

Complicating this further, your legal team will tell you to keep quiet and avoid saying anything that could damage you in court. But your PR firm should insist that it’s crucial to get ahead of negative blowback and proactively communicate with your audience. 

Here’s why you should avoid adopting an overly conservative response — and five strategies to communicate effectively in the midst of a legal crisis.

Why You Need an Effective Comms Strategy When Facing Litigation 

Whether your firm is innocent or guilty from a legal perspective, staying silent in response to an attack on your firm’s image is not a good option. Why? In the absence of an official statement from you, your audience is much more likely to accept someone else’s narrative — or create one of their own. 

Academic research bears this out. According to William Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory, “The important point is not whether the business is in fact responsible for [an] offensive act, but whether the firm is thought to be responsible by the relevant audience” (emphasis added).

More simply put, perception is reality. So even if (or perhaps particularly if) you’ve done nothing wrong, it’s essential to communicate your side of the story to your audience. 

How Good PR Enabled a Healthcare Company to Gain Market Share

I saw the importance of managing the narrative around litigation first-hand when I represented a healthcare company that had recently acquired a new technology. When they attempted to break into their competitor’s market, the competitor promptly sued them for patent infringement in several countries.

Initially, my client’s IP lawyer persuaded them to stay silent. But the competitor was relentless, releasing well-crafted statements after every milestone decision in court. It spun every decision in its favor. As a result, my client’s sales team encountered significant resistance in the field. 

Further, the client was a publicly traded company, and its stock prices came under pressure as the competition persisted with its full-court press.

The tide turned when the client’s executive leader stepped in. He understood that even if his organization won the legal battle, it could still lose in the court of public opinion. That meant their business’s very viability was on the line — and he knew it was important to speak out.

So we set out to beat the competitor at its own game. We collaborated closely with the client’s legal team to create scenario plans for every lawsuit in each of the several countries where active litigation was underway. We charted out every possible outcome for each milestone in every jurisdiction. We drafted a press release for every outcome that would relay our point-of-view into the marketplace as soon as each milestone was achieved. 

This proactive, well-timed strategy enabled the client to maintain its customer base and eventually preserve the market share it had taken from its competitor. Thanks to executive leadership who understood the need to balance legal and reputation risk, the comms and legal teams were able to work collaboratively. Together, they addressed the compelling issues facing the company beyond the courtroom. 

5 Steps to Manage Your Firm’s Reputation During Litigation

Protecting or restoring your firm’s image as a result of litigation will take a serious concerted effort on the part of your internal team. And though a partner like Greentarget can do much of the heavy lifting to facilitate this process, your Executive Committee members, legal counsel, and other influential figures will need to come together to craft your PR response.

This will require you to take five crucial steps.

1. Conduct Scenario Planning to Plot Likely Outcomes

High-profile, complex litigation can last for months, if not years. Therefore, as we saw in the example above, one of the most important things you can do is put strategies in place to minimize the impact of ongoing negative press.

To think through every likely scenario, ask questions like:

  • What are all the possible outcomes we may need to address?
  • How severe is the reputational threat of each outcome?
  • How could each scenario potentially unfold?
  • How should we respond to each scenario?

Finally, you’ll need to gather any data or supporting information required to inform the appropriate course of action in response to each scenario.

2. Prioritize Your Audiences

The details of your litigation may not affect — or even interest — every segment within your audience. Knowing exactly who you’re talking to is crucial in getting the right message across at the right time. Therefore, it’s important to tailor your response to the audience members who truly need to hear it.

Consider:

  • What audiences have the potential to be impacted?
  • Which audiences will be most affected?
  • What is the chain of influence within the audience environment?
  • How large is the gap between current and desired perceptions within each audience segment?

Then, develop concise, quotable, factual messages based on each audience’s needs. Use supporting details, analogies, metaphors, and other storytelling devices to capture their attention and foster empathy for your message.

3. Determine Which Communication Platforms to Use

Good communication plans are customized based on your audience’s needs. In the same way, it’s important to deliver your message using the mechanisms they are familiar with or accustomed to. 

For example, you might choose to email your current clients because that’s how you normally communicate with them. Employees might expect to hear from you in an interactive town hall setting. But your investors or other key stakeholders might need to meet with you one-on-one.

Managing your firm’s reputation is too important to simply issue a one-size-fits-all message using your largest platform. Personalization is the name of the game. 

4. Identify and Prepare Appropriate Spokespeople to Deliver the Message

It’s also important to consider who should communicate your message to each segment of your audience. As an executive leader, you might be the best person to talk to the media or communicate with your board or other influential stakeholders. But there may be other spokespeople in your organization who would be more effective at reaching certain audiences.

No matter who you choose to speak on your organization’s behalf, make sure they are prepared to master high-pressure environments. Greentarget can provide coaching to ensure each spokesperson knows how to:

  • Deliver key takeaways first
  • Distill important points into memorable soundbites
  • Block unwanted questions and maneuver the conversation back to your desired talking points
  • Stay calm and poised when fielding difficult questions

Just remember: Your choice of spokesperson is also a message. Carefully think through how each audience segment will feel about hearing your message from your chosen representative.

5. Put a Rapid Response Team in Place to Fill In Any Gaps 

There are natural news events built into any litigation (e.g. filing of the complaint; subsequent motions; the verdict). In the scenario planning phase, you created a planned response for each one. 

Still, unforeseen situations are bound to arise. And when they do, it’s vital to have a team in place that’s equipped to respond quickly.

Your rapid response team should actively listen and monitor the situation at all times. By having an ear to the ground, you can stay ahead of any curve balls potentially coming your way.

Bring PR and Legal Counsel Together When Facing Litigation

Although PR and legal counsel approach the challenges of litigation from opposite sides, they ultimately want the same thing: to protect your firm from harm. Since lawsuits typically stem from — or result in — a reputational crisis, your PR strategy and your legal strategy must be linked.

Staying silent in the midst of a crisis is rarely the best option, but you also don’t want to say the wrong thing. To that end, crafting an effective communications strategy in response to high-profile litigation undoubtedly requires expert guidance and support.

That’s why it’s essential to surround yourself with experts who’ve navigated these challenging circumstances before. Greentarget has helped numerous clients direct a smarter conversation throughout the course of litigation. We’d love to help you, too. Just reach out.

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Corporate social responsibility has factored into investment decisions for years, with the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) a big part of corporate decision-making for nearly two decades. But the focus on ESG reached a fever pitch in 2021. Indeed, there might not have been a more common three-letter combination in the world’s boardrooms.

That’s why international law firm Fenwick sought to unearth insights about how ESG and a growing cultural emphasis on diversity was affecting biotech companies. Specifically, the firm wanted to conduct first-of-its kind research and provide an analysis of marketplace reporting practices across the sector to create a resource for companies in biotech and beyond about key governance best practices at a critical moment.

Solution

Fenwick enlisted the services of Greentarget, specifically its Research & Market Intelligence and Content & Editorial teams, on a multi-faceted research approach. The first step was a unique review of the publicly available information of the top 50 biotech companies in the United States based on market capitalization. This review, which required nearly 100 hours of research-intensive time, included SEC filings and information on company websites, which was compiled and then summarized for key industry trends and other points of interest.

This in-depth review informed the development of quantitative survey questions designed to elicit insight from key decision-makers, including individuals who held C-suite positions, were heads of ESG or held sustainability and legal roles, as well as investors from hedge funds, investment banks and venture capital firms. A focus of the survey was to gauge sentiment around expectations and challenges regarding ESG, as well as expectations about SEC intervention and a medium-term forecast.

The results were then shared with Fenwick lawyers who represent technology and biotech companies on a variety of corporate governance and transactional matters, including ESG, to gather their analysis of the specific findings. Channelling these insights, Greentarget developed a report around the findings with an emphasis on providing actionable guidance about how companies can prepare and what they should consider when implementing and reporting on ESG.

Results

The final report, “Biotech’s ESG Crossroads,” was released in February 2022, combining what Greentarget found in its initial public review, the survey findings and the expertise of Fenwick’s lawyers. The report detailed how sector executives and investors compare when it comes to ESG’s growing prominence. And it discovered a lack of standard practices around ESG disclosures, that ESG would continue to surge in prominence and that biotech companies were just getting started when it comes to addressing ESG. The report, the first of its kind on this topic for Fenwick, is expected to become an annual offering.

The email campaign developed for the report launch yielded an open rate of 39.2%, with a click-to-open ratio of 5.9%. The report itself garnered 520 unique page views, with readers spending on average of four minutes and 46 seconds on the report page.

Media also took an interest in the data, with notable industry publications like STAT, FierceBiotech, BioCentury and Corporate Secretary covering the findings. Others, like Harvard Law School’s Corporate Governance Blog, republished the report in full.

Since the report’s launch, Fenwick lawyers have presented the data directly to biotech clients, speaking with their nominating and governance committees. One Fenwick partner who helped lead the data analysis told Law.com that companies in the biotech industry had been clamouring for this type of data on governance issues for a while, and being able to provide data that supports her legal counsel has been invaluable to her clients.

The report generated such strong attention that another law firm mentioned it during their own webinar about ESG issues.

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Moments after the Supreme Court announced its landmark Dobbs v. Jackson decision, Ropes & Gray’s chairwoman Julie Jones released a heartfelt statement. In it, she shared her personal and professional reaction to the seismic shift the decision represents. 

Jones acknowledged the differences of opinion her internal stakeholders held on the decision while openly articulating her dismay regarding the reversal of Roe v. Wade. She also made her firm’s position clear, saying, “There will be many opportunities for those interested to contribute on a pro bono basis to the protection of health care rights for women, a cause which Ropes & Gray will continue to champion.”

Jones’ full statement is powerful and authoritative. But from a PR perspective, it’s not so much what she said that’s particularly noteworthy. It’s the fact that she was poised to respond in a meaningful way that sets her apart from the majority of her peers.

More than ever, the professional service firm’s executive committee is called upon to make decisions regarding issues that don’t directly impact their business, or participate in narratives that have not required their participation in the past. Many of these issues and narratives are fraught with emotional risk for certain stakeholder groups, requiring abundant empathy and a strong understanding of their audience. For these reasons, executive committees should consider engaging directly with a PR firm that can provide objective guidance in this new landscape. Here are five ways engaging a strong PR resource can help an executive committee navigate the special situations that are heading its way with greater frequency. 

1. Know When and How to Speak Out on Social Issues

We’ve said it before. In today’s world, social concerns are business concerns. And that means your firm can’t afford to sidestep the hot-button topics your audience cares about. 

That doesn’t mean you need to speak out about everything that’s happening in the world. But it does mean you should carefully examine your values and develop unique points of view on the issues that matter most to your firm and your stakeholders.

For Julie Jones, that meant crafting a statement about Dobbs even before the decision was final. For other firms, it might mean developing positions of authority about tax reform, ESG principles, or climate change. 

Whatever the case may be, a good PR firm can help your executive committee anticipate what’s approaching on the horizon. That way you won’t be left scrambling to respond after another firm has beat you to the punch.

2. Protect Your Firm’s Reputation in Times of Crisis

It can be difficult for any leader, no matter how experienced, to know the best way to handle a crisis. That’s especially true if the crisis in question poses a threat to the firm’s reputation. 

Some accept an unwarranted ding to their firm’s public image for fear of making the situation worse. Others try to curtail the damage by minimizing or downplaying their firm’s wrongdoing or missteps. Neither end of this spectrum demonstrates the authenticity and vulnerability that a difficult PR scenario requires.

That’s why PR counsel is so important in the heat of the moment. We advise clients on how to respond to difficult situations with empathy for their audience. Keeping your audience’s concerns, questions, and needs at the forefront of your crisis communication plan is the crucial first step toward moving beyond the eye of the storm.  

3. Communicate Effectively During Leadership Transitions

Executive transitions — particularly at the most senior level — are news events that are certain to attract the public’s attention. As such, it’s critically important to communicate clearly with clients, stakeholders, and the public before, during, and after key executive changes.

But many executive committees don’t take time to plan for transitions before they happen. And without clear succession plans in place and solid communication plans to back them up, executive committees can miss valuable opportunities to properly leverage the moment when the time comes to announce a transition.

Working with a PR firm before leadership transitions are even on the table enables your executive committee to:

  • Craft compelling institutional narratives about where the firm has been and where it’s headed in the future.
  • Define and articulate your firm’s unique value proposition, which can become the common thread that connects an outgoing leader to an incoming one.
  • Capture and preserve the institutional memory and knowledge of key leaders before they depart. 

Successful leadership changes are carefully planned and expertly communicated. And the best way to ensure your firm experiences a seamless transition is to consider how your audience will view the relationship between the past and the future well in advance.

4. Make Informed Decisions About Client Representation

Your executive committee should engage in healthy debate regarding which clients to represent and which to pass over. That’s particularly vital in the age of cancel culture. It’s become increasingly common for individuals and community advocacy groups to access client lists and pressure firms to reconsider their affiliation with controversial individuals or businesses. 

A PR partner can help executive committees consider questions like:

  • Will representing this client contradict — and therefore undermine — our stated values? 
  • Is this engagement likely to invite threats to our reputation? And if so, are the short-term gains worth the risk?

By engaging a PR firm to help you consider these and other questions, your executive committee can shape a smarter, more strategic process around client selection.

5. Communicate Transparently, Especially With Internal Stakeholders

Two decades ago, the Sarbanes Oxley Act was passed to increase transparency related to corporate governance practices. As a result, corporate boards sought out PR representation to help them manage accurate, transparent disclosures that their public shareholders and other stakeholders could understand and accept.  

Executive committees at professional services firms should take a page from this playbook as they develop internal communication strategies. 

Why? During the pandemic, your employees became accustomed to receiving frequent, transparent, and open communications. They felt they were kept in the loop about rapidly changing scenarios and circumstances. They saw a different side of executive leaders when children, pets, and spouses made unexpected cameo experiences during even the most important meetings and calls. And they continue to crave — and yes, expect — transparency about the decisions you make on behalf of the firm.

A good PR firm knows how to help leaders demonstrate transparency, openness, and authenticity when communicating to (and eliciting feedback from) their employees. 

Don’t Neglect Your Executive Committee’s Unique PR Needs

The executive committee is responsible for stewarding the firm’s wellbeing while simultaneously charting its course for the future. This important work shouldn’t be done in a vacuum, or an echo chamber. A strong PR resource can provide insight into the audience that is necessary to craft a  thoughtful and authentic response to any number of newly urgent and risky issues.  

Of course, the best time to engage a PR firm is before you need one. So even if the skies are currently clear at your firm, let’s talk.

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PR firms talk at length about concepts such as thought leadership and creating unique POVs that serve your audience. We tend to wax eloquent about participating skillfully in the conversations that matter most as an authority. That’s because we know that when your audience views you with trust and respect, they’re more likely to come to your firm for help in solving their toughest challenges.

Still, it’s natural for you to ask one simple question. Is our PR investment really worth it? 

It can be difficult to draw a direct line between the PR campaigns you invest in and the client engagements you secure as a result. And if you’re not able to accurately measure the ROI of your PR efforts, how can you be sure you’re allocating resources in the most impactful areas possible? 

You need to look at the right metrics at the right time. Because the truth is, authority is the ultimate ROI of an effective PR program. Assessing its full impact requires a holistic perspective and a willingness to prioritize long-term value over short-term wins.

The Value of Authority 

Our goal at Greentarget is to help clients establish and demonstrate their authority. But what does that really mean? And more specifically, what will it look like when your firm is viewed as an authority in your industry? 

First, it’s important to understand that the terms “thought leader” and “authority” are not interchangeable.

Thought Leaders Share Expertise

Thought leaders are ahead of the curve and play a key role in shaping the direction of their industry. However, they tend to share their knowledge in a one-way fashion — usually through owned media channels that don’t invite much discourse. As such, thought leaders aren’t typically concerned with how their audience receives and interprets the information they put out into the world. They simply want to reach as broad an audience as possible with the messages that are most important to their organization.

Authorities Serve Their Audience

By contrast, authorities go beyond dispensing expertise. They carefully consider how to position their knowledge in ways that matter to their audience. Yes, they are bona fide thought leaders in their own right. But true authorities express their POV to spark dialogue, solicit feedback, and test their ideas and perspectives among other experts. 

Furthermore, true authorities aren’t simply heard — they’re heeded. Unlike thought leaders who are usually more reactionary, authorities shape the conversations that matter and inspire action as a result. And they’re willing to embrace feedback, consider new viewpoints and pivot when necessary. 

To achieve this level of influence, you’ll need to:

Anyone can be a thought leader, but not everyone can be an authority. That’s why Greentarget’s approach to PR is oriented around helping firms discover and harness their authority. 

The ROI of Authority

In our highly digitized landscape, we’ve become obsessed with quantitative metrics. And there’s no shortage of data points we can analyze to measure the effectiveness of various communication tactics. 

For example, it’s common to assess your PR campaigns by tracking how often you’re cited by credible media outlets and other authorities in your field. Or, you might look at marketing metrics such as organic web traffic, time on page, click-through rates, and conversion rates to analyze how well you’re reaching your broad audience. 

But as important as these quantitative numbers are, they don’t tell the full story.

It’s About Quantity and Quality

Measuring the ROI of authority requires you to think about qualitative indicators and insights that round out the quantitative data. Instead of only asking how many people you’re reaching, you should be evaluating how effectively you’re engaging the prospects that matter to your firm the most.

After all, it’s better to have one quality conversation that leads to a high-value engagement than 100 conversions from wrong-fit prospects. But if you look at your standard KPIs in a vacuum, those 100 leads look a whole lot better than one conversation. 

To be sure you’re measuring the right indicators of authority’s ROI, ask yourself:

  • How often are our ideas sparking real dialogue among the people we’re most interested in reaching?
  • Are our POVs being iterated upon and therefore becoming sharper and smarter over time? 
  • To what extent are we challenging existing narratives or assumptions within our industry? 
  • What kind of feedback are we getting from our network when we put ourselves out there with a new or provocative point of view?

During the pandemic, Freightos, a digital booking platform for global shipping and logistics, discovered they possessed valuable data about supply chain issues. They determined they had information and a level of analysis that the industry could benefit from, and started a podcast to share their insights about shipping data, including an index of ocean container travel times. Subsequently, The New York Times ran a feature story about their impact. 

What’s interesting is that Freightos didn’t measure success based on how many people accessed and downloaded their useful, salient data. And though they were excited to be featured in The New York Times, that was not the end-all, be-all for them. What signaled success for them was hearing excitement and buzz from the friends, colleagues, and influencers in their own network. That’s when the ROI of their PR efforts was fully crystallized in their minds — when they were recognized as an authority.

Leading vs. Lagging Indicators of PR Success

It’s also important to understand that many of the standard KPIs used to evaluate the effectiveness of PR are lagging indicators of success. But your authority is a leading indicator of future results. In other words, the qualitative measures of impact we discussed earlier are both results in their own right and assurance that you’re headed in the right direction. 

The initial evidence (i.e. leading indicators) that your firm’s authority is yielding ROI can be found in the quality of the conversations you’re having and the anecdotal affirmations of your influence in your network. 

Then, over time, you’ll see additional lagging indicators of your authority’s ROI, such as:

  • Revenue. Your revenue is growing over time, and you’re reaching desired growth targets. 
  • Geography. You consistently see media coverage in the markets that matter the most to you.
  • Talent. Your firm is an employer of choice and you succeed in attracting and retaining top talent as a result.
  • Profitability. Because your authority yields more right-fit conversations, you’re able to focus on the engagements that lead to the greatest profit.
  • Capabilities. You continually identify new services and offerings that evolve with your clients’ changing needs.

In other words, realizing the full ROI of your authority requires you to take the long view.

Invest In PR to See the ROI of Your Firm’s Authority

Although establishing your firm’s authority is a process that requires patience and perseverance, you’ll never see the ROI you’re after without taking the first step. That means you can’t afford to put it off or hope for the best. You need to work with a partner who knows how to build your authority and leverage it in ways that contribute to your firm’s immediate and long-term success.

Greentarget clients have seen a significant return on their PR investment, both in terms of the authority they earn and the business engagements they secure as a result.

We can help your firm, too — but only if you make establishing your authority the priority it needs to be. 

It’s time for you to seize the mantle. So let’s talk.

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