Hsieh says no need to put effort into PR

By on August 30th, 2010 In Best Practices

It seems like everyone is reading the Tony Hsieh book these days, myself included. The CEO of Zappos.com is the new sage of culture, and I must admit after finishing the book last night I admire his style and…well…gonads! The guy had no fear and was willing to bet his entire fortune on an Internet shoe company, which on the surface seems crazy but 10 years later and after a $1.2 billion dollar buyout by Amazon looks prescient.

The book is full of great stories and advice about company culture, but one quote stood out for me:

“You don’t need to put a lot of effort into reaching out to the press if your company naturally creates interesting stories as a by-product of delivering a great product or experience.”

Our own Dan Wool has been saying something similar for years: the best PR is good product. Hsieh’s concept is similar, but there is a nuanced difference. Dan says that if the the product/service is good, the pitch sells itself. Hsieh is saying not to bother pitching because if you have a good story the press will find you. Holy crap! If that’s true, are we wasting our time pitching?

The answer is maybe. I have to admit there’s nothing worse than pitching an iffy product. And Dan is right when he says the best PR is good product because if you’ve ever pitched something that you knew was a good story you know it’s much easier. But Hsieh’s point is well taken too. The media is always on the lookout for good stories and one way or another the best stories seem to find their way to them…either through good reporting or the buzz of the business world.

But don’t give up on pitching just because Tony Hsieh says it’s overrated. The true lesson here is to spend the time on your business making it stand out. When you become the next Zappos you will get press without much effort. Of course, how to do that is the rub. Hsieh certainly has some quality advice, and while this is not a book review it is an endorsement. The book is a great read!

By the way, Hsieh is scheduled to be the guest speaker at a Nov. 2 Phoenix AMA event. Stay tuned for details.

Comments

Abbie S. Fink Says:
August 30th, 2010 at 8:50 am

Len — I’ve been wanting to read this book so thank you for the overview. It is now on the must-read list.

As for not putting a lot of effort into reaching the press…I think it is up to the company to define what “press” means for them. With today’s insta-news and everyone’s ability to comment on your business or product, a focused and strategic effort to share your story with your consumers still must be part of our your overall communications plan.

kate Says:
August 30th, 2010 at 9:40 am

Very interesting. I have to say that not pitching the media and still getting press is a lot easier when you can afford national TV commercials or you have a very straightforward product, like shoes etc. While here in the non profit service industry, things aren’t quite that clear cut.

Emily Soccorsy Says:
August 30th, 2010 at 9:47 am

I tend to agree with Kate. We work with non-profits who have amazing stories to share, and their focus is on serving the people they help, not letting the press know about these incredible stories.

It is only through PR research and focused, tailored pitches that those stories become public.

The reporter in me agrees totally with Hsieh, but the PR person in me knows the reality of this crowded, multi-channel press marketplace where you have to put something out there to be noticed.

Diane Leifer Says:
August 30th, 2010 at 10:05 am

While he may not be directly pitching to the press, he sure spends big $$ on Twitter!

Diane Leifer Says:
August 30th, 2010 at 10:05 am

While he may not be directly pitching to the press, he sure spends big $$ on his PR Agency who Tweets for him!

David Says:
August 30th, 2010 at 10:28 am

As newsrooms dwindle in size and reporters pickup more beats, I think companies and organizations need to put more effort into reaching out to the press.

Some stories will make it the press, but a good story can get lost without reaching out.

Dan Wool Says:
August 30th, 2010 at 11:15 am

Thanks for the shout out, Len.

My “great product is the best PR” maxim agrees 100 percent with Mr. Hsieh and Zappos, of which I happen to be a customer.

Zappos is all about making the customer experience so great that you will be forever loyal and tell your friends. Thus, their customer relations equals publicity.

This is different from public relations — big difference — the strategic communications planning and coordination for their many audiences. Do they need to pitch? Of course. Someone had to pitch them in the beginning. But it’s a downhill snowball now. They don’t need to spend much time, talent or money on it. Their employees and customers do most of the heavy lifting day-to-day. So it frees the company to be more creative and strategic — and profitable in its marketing and PR.

You are right on about PR people being business consultants — that is where we add the most value.

Marketing Sociologist Says:
August 31st, 2010 at 8:53 pm

That MBA is REALLY paying off for Mr. Wool. Excellent comment!

Tracy Diziere Says:
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:15 pm

Great post & comments! I heard an awesome excerpt from an NPR interview w/ Hsieh where the interviewer asks about a 7-hour customer service issue, which makes no sense economically. Hsieh’s response? Can’t begin to measure the publicity we’ve gotten and it’s impact based on that story. Cool, huh? As a separate inquiry, since I’m more on the Marketing side of things (and I do mean capital M marketing) vs. PR, I’m curious to hear from you pros how often you are in the position to be “Advocate of Product Improvement” given Dan’s spot-on maxim? And, are your clients open to suggestions from you about this? It seems to be an awesome partnering opportunity for Marketing strategists & PR mavens, especially for small clients without in-house product development, R&D, product marketing, and marcom teams. (Email is probably more appropriate for a discussion; don’t want to detract from Len’s focus here!)

Marketing Sociologist Says:
September 3rd, 2010 at 5:26 pm

This is why I love 21st Century marketing. Dan and Tracey’s post open discussion college professors don’t offer. Fantastic input and why I follow this blog.

Wendy Kenney Says:
September 6th, 2010 at 10:01 am

Just a comment, Tony’s book launch PR has been handled by local PR firm Digital Royalty- Amy Martin. Is PR really overrated? Just sayin’.

http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/contact/

Geri Koeppel Says:
September 10th, 2010 at 3:39 pm

Ha! Anti-PR guy hires PR firm. Good one!

I’m intrigued about the prior messages re: being a business consultant. I dabble a little in PR/marketing and find it tough to bring up advice on the product to a client who thinks all is well there, and that I just need to concentrate on making sure his menus are spelled correctly and that I send out decent releases.

I would love to attend a panel on how to gently (or not-so-gently) steer a client toward product improvement and business consulting services.

greg head Says:
October 5th, 2010 at 9:58 pm

Rule #1 – build a Great Freaking Product (GFP).

If your product isn’t great for somebody – really remarkable – no amount of marketing effort or price reductions or sales flogging will help you get really big and bring new buyers to your door without effort. Seth Godin reminds us that products that aren’t remarkably great won’t get talked about. And if it isn’t talked about in the new world, people won’t hear about it, let alone perceive it as the obvious choice.

I’ve been pretty grumpy about the state of many early startups and the perceptions of many entrepreneurs and big company innovators who don’t get it. You can’t advertise or publicize your way to the top without a great freaking product that somebody thinks is incredible and wants to talk about.

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