CFI: News Review


Playing the public relations game with panache


by Rob Lankey, head of lending, Aldermore Commercial Mortgages


as the economy starts (hope- fully) to pull out of recession, having a strong corporate reputation will undoubtedly help your company capitalise on business opportunities, because a positive reputation engenders customer con- fidence and helps increase sales. if you think about it, a


reputation is something that every company has, whether they want one or not. You therefore cannot afford to ignore your company’s reputation and you may as well do as much as possible to influence its positive development. this is particularly true for those engaged in the commercial mortgage market, whose businesses are so dependent on trust.


Service So what can you do to ac- tively manage the reputation of your business? corporate reputations are built and lost on the quality of service of- fered so ensuring the service you provide is as slick as pos- sible, is an obvious starting point. no amount of public rela-


tions activity will disguise a sub-standard service, but assuming your service is up to scratch, the next step is to consider approaching your local newspaper to see if there is an opportunity to provide them with informa- tion about commercial fi-


nance that will be of interest to their business readers.


Practical public relations all large financial institutions understand the commer- cial value of positive media coverage and the indepen- dent endorsement it brings is worth many thousands, if not millions, of pounds. the same principle holds true for smaller businesses, espe- cially service providers such as commercial mortgage bro- kers. dealing with the media on


a regular basis may sound like something only larger or- ganisations can afford to do but that’s not true. one of the great joys of media relations activity is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. all you need do is set aside some time to talk to your local press or any type of publication that’s rel- evant to your business and provide them with informa- tion on a regular basis. You don’t need large budgets or to employ the services of spe- cialist agencies. many commercial mort-


gage brokers prefer to operate within a specific geographic area and it is therefore fairly straightforward to identify your key local newspapers. get hold of your local papers and have a look at who writes the business and finance col- umns, because that’s who you need to speak to. But don’t be put off if your


paper doesn’t have a specific finance section; it’s not un- usual on a local newspaper. the task of writing about finance is often given to the business or the property edi- tor to sort out. the reality is that their knowledge of com-


mercial mortgage matters is usually pretty thin and they are therefore grateful for support and input from local experts, which means you.


Be brave it’s worth making a quick phone call to introduce your- self and explain how you can help them and their business readers address financial is- sues. You could start by offer- ing to pen a regular column. the trick is to make the col- umn informative, topical and relevant to local readers, so base the information it con- tains on typical local busi- nesses - if you can include a local case study, so much the better. also consider local issues:


is your local economy based on manufacturing or ser- vices and are you located in an enterprise zone?Writing an article may sound daunt- ing, but it doesn’t have to be. Stick to one subject, avoid jargon and don’t be blatantly promotional about your own business, because it doesn’t come across credibly and looks like what it is: an un- subtle plug. the key to success with


the local media is persever- ance. it will take a bit of time and effort to get the Pr ball rolling, but it will be worth it. don’t be put off if you don’t get an immediate positive re- sponse from the local paper and do be prepared to write a speculative column to dem- onstrate that you are capable of producing the goods. also bear in mind that the


number of editorial pages in a local paper is entirely de- pendent on the volume of advertising they carry. if ad-


vertising is down, editorial is cut back and it may be your article that is held back for another week.


Think laterally also consider sending press releases to your local paper. Keep them short (one side of a4 if possible) and consider how you can link the service you offer to topical news is- sues. For example, you could link the benefits of investing in commercial property to the bigger debate about the future of traditional pensions. Press releases allow you to


be more promotional about the service you offer but you still need to ensure the infor- mation within it is relevant to local readers. and finally, do go to the


trouble to have some decent photographs taken of yourself to run alongside your articles and press releases. a profes- sionally produced picture will help carry a story and need not be expensive if taken by a local photographer. it’s very tempting as a com-


mercial mortgage broker to believe that your business is specialist and you don’t need to manage its reputation in the same way as if it were a B2c business. that would be a big mistake. abandoning your corporate reputation to fate by not actively managing it is taking an unnecessary risk, especially when it’s rela- tively easy and inexpensive to develop a Pr programme of your own. and if you have neither the


time nor the inclination to do it yourself, speak to a local Pr agency. there are plenty who will be more than happy to help.


mortgage introducer MAY 2011 53


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