Jenna Guarneri, Founder and CEO of JMG Public Relations, an award-winning PR firm for innovators and their mission-driven startup companies.
Reaching the 10-year mark as a business is no small feat–it reflects hard work, consistency and passion. As an entrepreneur, you likely started with a clear set of goals, then worked tirelessly toward them. Challenge after challenge, you navigated the complex landscape of your industry. This milestone is a testament to you and your team’s resilience. Not all businesses make it this far. In fact, more than 50% of new businesses close around the five-year mark, and 70% of small businesses end their run by their 10th year.
As you reflect on the last 10 years, you have likely encountered intricate questions and challenges. How can you stay relevant in a constantly evolving market? How can you evolve without losing the trust of the loyal audience that supported your growth? How can you truly expand, grow and thrive while staying firm and deeply rooted in your brand’s identity and purpose?
The answer to these questions lies in a robust, creative, human-centric public relations strategy.
What The 10-Year Mark Means For A Business
A lot can happen within a decade. As a business owner, you’ll find the organization evolving, with changes to the initial ideas and behaviors that first shaped the foundation. The vision and goals you had at the start may have changed as you interacted with the market more—and this is often a great sign, as it speaks to your adaptability as a leader and your ability to stay connected with your audience as their expectations and behaviors transform with time.
Information now travels at lightning speed, which requires businesses to be more agile and adaptable to keep up with the faster pace of change. How quickly you can respond to consumer demands—all while maintaining that authentic connection your audience has with your brand—is not just an entrepreneurial choice but a survival skill that will set you apart from industry peers.
An audience’s relationship with the brands they love is built on transparency and communication—two crucial factors for a business to endure. As a business leader, the ability to develop trust and loyalty among customers, investors and employees is how you stand out over industry competitors. Developing this type of stability is what allows CEOs to begin focusing on the next phase of their business, including expansion—one of the most exciting milestones in a company’s journey.
Key PR Strategies To Stay Relevant
1. Stay consistent with your brand message. Consistency is essential for retaining the trust of your current audience and establishing a clear tone for those discovering your brand. From your product quality to your customer service, you want to retain what people love and remember about you and root your future plans in that.
2. Tell a story people care about. People place their trust in brands that share the same values and beliefs, creating a shared connection. Do you have a compelling, relatable origin story? Or are there social causes you’re passionate about? Connecting with your audience through a shared identity is what builds strong bridges.
3. Prioritize media visibility. In order to be remembered, you must be seen often, specifically as a thought leader in your industry. Regular media exposure can make that happen. Ensure that you build strong relationships with the media to amplify your achievements and increase credibility, which is essential for building trust with your target audience.
4. Adapt and innovate. Pay attention to how the market evolves and then actively participate. Social listening is extremely important to understanding customer needs, discovering emerging trends and fostering strong relationships. Make this a consistent part of your overall business strategy.
5. Focus on community engagement. Events such as social responsibility initiatives and brand activations can be the start of long-term relationships. This is also where your brand representatives can shine—how warm and respectful your team is when interacting with your community can make or break customer relationships.
6. Have a strong digital presence. When it comes to digital presence, it’s not enough to only “exist” on social media—you have to actively post and engage with your community. Making your brand a “familiar presence” in your customers’ daily screen time is a great way to nurture your relationships with them.
7. Leverage influencer and partner collaborations. People are naturally inclined to connect with those they can relate to on a personal level, which is why influencer marketing is highly successful. Incorporate the partnerships that fit seamlessly into your business strategy to continue building authentic connections.
8. Stay ahead of industry trends. A good PR team always has its finger on the pulse of industry trends. Staying ahead of industry trends allows businesses to remain competitive, anticipate shifts in the market and take advantage of new opportunities.
9. Manage crises well, and be transparent. Another opportunity to establish your integrity as a business is the way you handle a crisis. Whether that’s an individual customer complaint or a larger-scale public reputation concern, approaching from a place of accountability and empathy shows your community that your leadership is grounded in service.
10. Invest in experiential marketing. It’s one thing for an audience to see your ads and visuals and a whole different aspect for them to be able to make actual memories with your brand. Immersive events or interactive product launches are an excellent community-building effort, helping you foster emotional bonds with your consumers while generating positive media coverage.
Conclusion
As you plan your future, keep in mind that the next decade will require even more from the survival skills you have built over the past 10 years. For businesses to succeed past the 10-year mark, they must successfully balance change while staying committed to core values. Consistent messaging, staying up-to-date with trends and adopting a human-centric approach are essential components for building and growing a business. An agile, forward-thinking PR strategy will not only keep you afloat but also make sure you stay ahead in the race.
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