In today’s competitive marketplace, technology companies can’t afford to just blend into the crowd, especially when launching game-changing products like generative AI tools.
One key to standing out? A strategic and robust public relations (PR) campaign. This article will delve into the importance of PR for B2B technology companies and the pivotal role it plays in product promotion, driving sales, attracting investors, and creating opportunities.
Standing Out in a Competitive Marketplace
The tech industry is a bustling metropolis of innovation, with seemingly breakthrough products being announced every day. When technologies like generative AI capture our attention, it shrinks the news cycle and makes it harder for companies to distinguish themselves.
This is where PR shines. It helps businesses establish a unique identity, communicate their value proposition effectively, and engage with relevant stakeholders.
For instance, when IBM launched its AI platform Watson, they used PR to emphasize the tool’s potential to transform industries, from healthcare to finance. This narrative not only captured media attention but also piqued the interest of potential clients and investors.
Analyst and Media Relations: A Vital Tool
Analyst and media relations play a crucial role in promoting a product and its features. By cultivating relationships with industry analysts and journalists, companies can ensure their product gets the coverage it deserves.
Consider how OpenAI garnered attention for its language model, GPT-3. Its PR team strategically engaged with key tech media outlets and analysts, resulting in widespread coverage that highlighted the model’s unprecedented capabilities.
The Power of Organic Media Coverage
Organic media coverage – as opposed to advertising and sponsored content – achieved through PR efforts, can have a significant impact on a company’s image and bottom line. Unlike paid promotions, organic coverage is perceived as more credible and can reach a broader audience.
Pro tip: Customer case studies/testimonials, data and financial news are the most powerful subject matter for capturing a journalist’s attention.
Take Salesforce as an example. Their PR activities around the launch of their AI tool, Einstein, resulted in extensive organic media coverage, enhancing the company’s credibility while driving customer interest.
Driving Sales and Attracting Investors
Effective PR doesn’t just raise awareness; it can directly impact a company’s financial success. By showcasing the benefits and potential of a product, PR can attract customers and drive sales.
Moreover, a successful PR campaign can make a company more attractive to investors. For example, after UiPath, a leading RPA company, successfully used PR to highlight their AI capabilities, they secured a $225 million investment round in 2020.
The same can be said for venture capital, private equity and other investment firms. As any investment expert will tell you, deals don’t come knocking at the door every day—and the most persuasive sales pitch is the one that’s based on showing as opposed to telling. It’s one thing, for example, to say you have a team of experts in your firm. But it’s quite another matter when you can get yourself out there as thought leader, offering insightful analysis and informed opinion through a major media outlet.
You can call yourself a deal-making expert. But isn’t it far more powerful when a top-tier institution gives you that credibility, along with their rock-solid platform?
Simply put: Raising visibility raises money. Just as a sound deal in private equity revolves around investor value, there is a value proposition behind savvy PR that feeds your overarching business goals.
Creating Opportunities
Beyond product and brand promotion, PR opens doors for future opportunities. It builds relationships with industry influencers, potential partners, and even future employees. Through PR, companies can shape their image, position their executives as industry experts, and lay the foundation for long-term success.
Conclusion
In the congested tech industry, effective public relationsis not just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have. As B2B companies continue to launch generative AI tools, a strategic PR approach will be critical to stand out, attract customers, secure investments, and seize new opportunities.
It’s time to rethink our PR strategies and harness their full potential.
By Mostafa Razzak is an award-winning communicator and CEO of JMRConnect: Shaping Influence® PR. To kickstart your PR and branding campaigns, contact Mostafa at m.razzak@jmrconnect.net.
