Does PR Promote Higher Growth?
A survey of small businesses and the PR methods used found a higher level of growth among businesses that used certain public relations activities and techniques. Those PR techniques associated with higher growth were managing government relations, holding consumer exhibitions, providing media news releases and writing letters to the media. Surprisingly, the study found that marketing to customers or businesses was not found to be associated with faster growth.
Researchers found that 92 percent of those surveyed used some form of public relations and that there was no indication of locational or industrial bias. In other words, the resulting growth was the same despite what type of company or where it was located. The study did not however answer the question about why these specific techniques were effective in fostering growth.
Source: “Does use of public relations promote a higher growth rate in small firms? The Case of Lincolnshire”, David Gray, Frank Davies, and Kevin Blanchard. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 2004. Vol. 9, Issue 4; pg. 294
