Expectations: They can a relief when exceeded, but a scary thing when not met. In public relations, especially on the agency side, client expectations can be some of the most difficult to deal with. Ideally, your point of contact would be the VP of Marketing or Director of PR, but sometimes, especially with cash-strapped start-ups, the point of contact is a founder or CEO. In the ideal situation, you work with someone who understands PR and the value behind its unique approach. On the other side, which is the case for many agencies in the Silicon Valley/Bay Area, you work with someone who doesn’t understand PR, and sets unrealistic expectations based on misconceptions about the industry.

I’ve found that many people hate PR people because of the companies they represent. Almost everyday on Twitter I see a tweet from a journalist complaining about a pitch they received from a PR person. Sometimes the complaints are valid because the PR person didn’t do their homework. But other times, it is because the PR person is forced to act like crazed door-to-door salesperson in an effort to meet a client’s unrealistic expectations for press coverage.

Here are a few examples of a few hurdles PR people face with clients who are new to PR:

1. PR is not advertising

2. In order to keep a company in the news, PR people need a consistent stream of great news announcements

3. Companies must be willing to listen to their PR team and discuss realistic expectations in advance

4. PR people need reference customers. Journalists will not just take the CEO’s word that it works

5. Public relations efforts need to be strategic in order to be successful. “Crying wolf” about every little thing a company does is a great way of getting ignored by reporters, investors, and customers when the real news occurs

6. Newsworthy announcements DO NOT include: Website launches; iPhone apps that are merely an extension of an existing company and do not serve a bigger mobile purpose; Executives speaking at an event or conference; Company is a finalist or runner-up for an award

In this uncertain economy where monthly budgets are lower, and the threat of losing business is high, many PR people focus on keeping their client happy in the short term rather than the long term… even if that means damaging the credibility of your agency or yourself in the process. Even agencies looking to acquire new business use this “short term” approach to lure companies into working with them. The problem with the “short term” approach is that it creates the misconception that PR people are a bunch of amateurs and busybodies who can get press coverage because of who they know, rather than what they’re selling. This approach does the PR industry a huge disservice, and supports this perpetual cycle of unrealistic expectations with companies and their PR team. How do we remedy this? Industry-wide movement? PR education policy for all new clients? Would love your thoughts.