Marketing Or PR (public relations)? What's right for your business?

Navigating the Intersection of Marketing and PR: What Does Your Business Need Right Now?

Let’s dive into the world of marketing and public relations (PR). But how do you know what your business needs at this moment? When should you turn to one over the other? Let’s break it down by clearly defining each.

Marketing vs. PR: What’s the Difference?

While both marketing and PR share some common tactics, like creating engaging content for social media, managing ads, or organizing events, their core purposes are different:

• Marketing is all about driving sales. It's the engine that powers your revenue, focusing on promoting your products and services to customers—

• PR, on the other hand, is concerned with shaping your company’s image. It’s what makes you look good. It’s about building and maintaining a positive reputation, managing public perceptions, and creating trust with your audience.

Even though their approaches may overlap at times, their goals are distinct. Marketing focuses on increasing sales by appealing to your target audience, while PR works to manage public perception and build positive relationships with both your audience and the media.

How Do Marketing and PR Work Together?

The key to both marketing and PR is alignment. While their goals differ, both should work hand-in-hand to tell a unified story. Both need to deliver a consistent brand message and tone across all touchpoints. But where they diverge is in the type of content and messaging they emphasize.

• Marketing hones in on products, services, and customer needs—driving direct action.

• PR focuses on perceptions, crises, and building goodwill—shaping how the public views your company.

What does this look like in action?

We recently worked with a restaurant that had been putting a lot of effort into its marketing strategy. They were doing everything right, yet they couldn’t understand why their competition was getting so much more attention. While the competition had been around longer, this restaurant had a prime location, amazing food, and competitive pricing—so what was missing? The answer was PR. The owners had recently relocated from out of town and lacked the local network that their competitors had built over the years. In fact, their competition might have been thriving without much marketing at all. That’s where we stepped in. We worked on their public relations strategy, getting them involved in local events and connecting them with the right people to raise their visibility.

So, What’s Right for You?

How do you decide which approach to prioritize?

• If you are a new company, facing a crisis management issue, or need to build deeper relationships with those in your community, PR 

• If your brand is well-known but your products are not getting the attention they deserve, then it’s time to double down on marketing. Get the word out and highlight your products in a way that gets people to take action.

The key is to align your strategy with your current business challenges and long-term goals. Whether you need to bolster your image or boost sales, understanding when to turn to marketing or PR can make all the difference in achieving success.