What’s the most dangerous words a comms or PR person can say?
‘Well, that’s what they want.’
This thought occurred to me yet again this week delivering some training.
Circulate a list of cuttings from the local media? Rather than cuttings, web and social feedback?
Oh well, that’s what they want.
Creating a poster and a flyer without asking why?
Oh well, that’s what they want.
I have banged on about educating the client many, many times. But I do so because I absolutely believe not simply that its true but also that its life saving.
You can send through just newspaper cuttings.
But one day someone bright will spot that the world has changed and you’ve not changed with it.
And they’ll ask what the point is of someone who doesn’t think, doesn’t advise and thinks that we live in 1996.
Your job is to educate yourself, your client and your organisation.
In that order.
Picture credit: Marco Verch / Flickr
Well said Dan. I always say to people ‘Tell me what you want and why and then we can talk about what you need.’
We do ourselves no favours and our profession a great disservice by taking the easy route and giving people what they want rather than what they need.
We have no one to blame but ourselves if we feel our work isn’t valued because clearly we don’t value it enough if we’re not prepared to put in the effort to research and produce the evidence to back up our reasoning and have the tough conversations. In that way we not only educate the client we educate ourselves.