In those days when there was a single company producing things, the market was a monopolistic one. Whether the public liked it or not, they had to buy goods and services offered by the concerned authority. Slowly after markets got freed up, competition started increasing and that was the end of the monopolist reign – in simple words that was a death blow to monopolist anarchy. As competition in the market increased, companies started looking for more profits in goods and that they realized can only be brought about by winning over the consumer rather than increasing the price of things.
It was the volume of sales that would decide the profit and not by charging exorbitant prices from consumers; that they realized, would further put off consumers and destroy their customer base. Then marketing strategies were formally introduced in the business. Then advertising came along as a part of the marketing strategy and then came the public relations of PR, as we know it today. Soon after the inception and recognition of PR as a foremost requisite to good sales (read: business), it was separated as a different department altogether so that the business team could work in cohesion as much in peace as and when required.
Defining Success in Public Relations
Public relations became the defining criteria of marketing strategies uniquely developed by business houses. If you’re working you would have observed that the person in the PR job might not necessarily be the most formally educated of the lot working in the office but definitely different from others; different in the sense that the PR personnel are leaders and have the ability to charm everyone with their talks! The gift of the ‘sensible’ gab is what differentiates PR personnel from colleagues of the other departments.
The PR guy need not necessarily make speeches in the public but the fact that he can use, reuse and manipulate business strategies (without crossing the bounds of business ethics, of course) is what should work for him. All in all, he should be able to help project the image of the company in such a way that their loyal customers are always there and at the same time pulling in new customers. Since when businesses actually became well-defined, to now – they have grown huge! Needless to say, the volume of business done has also leapfrogged and risen a few hundred times that in the previous decades; and they continue to expand and do so. Therefore a case may have developed where the company finds it difficult to intake more personnel for public relations and rather outsources it to some firm. Therefore if you’re looking for a job in public relations, a good option would be to look for outsourcing firms that provide such help.
In such a scenario and setup, the chance for personal growth is quite enhanced too. AS already mentioned, you must be a confident and a dynamic candidate so as to convince your employers and eventually clients! The job of a PR then, is not at all difficult!