In his second article on InsightLive, Neil Roberts, Account Director for Purplex Marketing discusses the influence PR has on the window industry.
Mention the term Public Relations or PR to companies in the window industry and you are likely to get a mixed a response. While some individuals love seeing their face plastered all over the trade press and online E-zines, others would rather keep a much lower profile and prefer to shy away from the limelight.
But while everyone has their own opinion on the merits of seeing their company splashed all over the media, done correctly PR really works.
What do the companies you see regularly promoting themselves in the trade press have in common? Aside from being the most easily recognised, invariably they are the most successful.
Without naming names, the reason some companies significantly out perform their rivals is not because their products or services are much better, it’s because they have built a good reputation through the media.
Imagine two fabricators based on the same industrial estate. For arguments sake let’s call them Company A and Company B. Both are of a similar size, use the same profile and offer similar products, yet Company A starts winning orders over the Company B. Why?
The difference is PR. Company A has been busy getting exposure all over the trade press and online E-zines and as a result, installers would now rather buy their frames from Company A. Tales like these are happening all throughout the supply chain, with the most successful systems companies, fabricators and sealed unit manufacturers all using PR to their advantage and stealing ground from their competitors.
So how can you go about getting your press releases published in the media? In fact it is not as difficult as you might think. There are some excellent print and online magazines operating in the window industry and the editors are eager to receive your news items.
A good example is Fenestration News http://www.fenestrationnews.com/news/news.aspx Fenestration News a well established online portal that contains press releases from all the major players in the industry. If you have written a story, you can email the editor at news@fenestrationNews.com and if approved will be uploaded for free onto the relevant news section within a day or two. Every Thursday, the week’s news is emailed out to over 20,000 industry contacts, making it very likely your press release will be viewed by your prospective customers. The site is updated daily and it allows people in the industry to catch up with the latest information as and when it happens, making this site ideal for keeping up with the fast paced window industry.
There are several other online E-zines including;
Some of the best print magazines include
….which are widely circulated among the industry and will consider running news-worthy press releases for a small printing fee.
So what happens if you haven’t got the time to write your own press release in a way editors will be interested in running them? The simple answer is leave it to the experts and appoint a PR agency.
Purplex has a dynamic and hugely experienced team of writers that will stream powerful PR and make your prospective customers sit up and take notice. The Purplex team knows the window and building industries inside out and will immediately begin to position your company as the one of the leading players in your specific field and make a real difference to your bottom line.
In conclusion, while you may not think PR is for you, ask as yourself why all the major players in the industry invest in it year-on-year. While it may seem like an ego trip for some, the novelty of appearing in the news would quickly ware off if it didn’t get results and improve profits.
Purplex can help you unlock the power of PR and use this weapon to your advantage and if you would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
To find out more about the PR services offered by Purplex please call Neil on 01934 808 132 or visit www.purplexmarketing.com
