Clear, precise, simple, and effective communication is the bedrock of any relationship, including professional business ones. After all, what is communication but depositing a part of yourself in another person.
And when communication is done with honesty and transparency, you deliver your words not by numbers but by the weight they carry. Every brand communicates with its customers. Those who do it transparently, effectively, and constantly form a personal bond with their clients and the public.
Public Relations is the most significant success factor distinguishing brands and non-brands. And the most effective PR strategy is putting proper words in the proper places, which is the recipe to creating the perfect hype; a buzz.
Transforming that buzz into a sensational phenomenon depends upon the enormous power of media strategy possessed by a powerful media, communications, and PR strategist; Pallavi Goorha Kashyup, the CEO of PG Communication. Pallavi’s massive hold comes from her decade-old eclectic experience and expertise in both journalism and communications.
Bridging the Brand Communication Gap
Pallavi shares, “We undoubtedly have a clear understanding of both sides of the business, which sets us apart from others in client management and media relations.”
She had a successful inning in journalism with some of India’s best-known print/online media brands. All of these were regular full-time salaried jobs. After ten years of work experience, Pallavi wanted to be her own boss. She was exploring business opportunities and did extensive research.
And she found out that there was a clear gap in the market for Corporate Communications and Public Relations industry. She decided to set up a boutique agency targeting medium size companies initially in different industries/verticals. Ten years ago, it was a virgin segment, and she and her team were able to onboard many clients to grow PG Communication quite rapidly.
The second objective was to create an entrepreneurial success story in this domain. There were not many agencies which could sustain in this middle segment at that time.
Pallavi says, “I must add: an important personal reason was to get some flexi-time and enjoy the early childhood of my only daughter.”
An Odyssey of Humble Reflections
Pallavi and her team of PG Communication work with their clients right from the planning stage till the delivery of a comprehensive solution. They build communication strategies after detailed study and research. They present an appropriate and cost-effective communication plan which delivers success. Their plans are agile and adaptable based on the clients’ needs and changing market conditions.
Client benefits from their expertise and years of experience managing corporate communication for various companies worldwide in diverse industry segments and verticals. “We are humbled by the support of our current and old clients over the last decade, having delivered many assignments successfully. We continue to be a partner in their growth journey,” reflects Pallavi.
The Saga of Brand PG Communications
PG Communication celebrated its tenth Anniversary recently. Pallavi says, “To me, it seems like just the other day when I jumped on this journey.” For Pallavi, the most significant success factor has been the trust of her clients from day one. She feels that she has been very fortunate to have a highly dedicated and sincere team at PG Communication. “I feel honoured to share that my founding team members are still there after ten years, burning the midnight oil to deliver the best services to all our clients,” expresses Pallavi.
Many clients just threw a challenge at them to ‘fix things’ because they couldn’t get satisfactory services from large agencies. Some SMB clients were testing the waters, and CEOs/Owners wanted to get the best for every Rupee they spent. Team PG Communication had to innovate and develop plans to optimize their investment and get the best results.
Brand Building by Clients
They had some early success stories in their hat. “Among many others, one of our clients has grown along with us from being a medium size Company to a large global enterprise. They had a Public issue and now command a Market Cap of around ₹3,000 Crores,” says a proud Pallavi.
Thanks to their clients’ referrals and testimonials, they have kept adding many more clients every year. The company have an extensive portfolio of clients being managed by it now. It has signed up a few listed Companies, large and medium-sized enterprises, and some well-known celebrities.
Pallavi informs, “We strategize, advise, and manage their corporate communication and Public Relations activities. We have added a subsidiary PG Digital this year providing services of Digital Marketing, Brand Building, and SCO/SEO.”
Fundamental Pillars of Strength in Encountering Obstacles
Speaking about the initial challenges Pallavi had to surmount to ensure PG Communication’s success rate reached greater heights, she says, “Putting it simply–as they say–I had to start paying for my own ‘gas.” Her dining table and the phone was her office setup.
The first learning for her was that she had moved to the other side of the table. The advantages of representing large media brands were gone. She had to leverage her extensive experience to make strategies and deliver services to her clients. It was a ‘pin to print cycle’ management all by herself.
Pallavi says with gratitude, “I must say my media Industry friends, colleagues, IIMC alumnus and most importantly, support from my family helped me a lot to overcome those initial challenges.”
Some old friends started working with her for a nominal fee. She feels humbled by their support in those early days; now, after a decade, they are the real pillars of PG Communication.
Enjoying Customers’ Success Stories
Talking about the professional values and qualities her clients’ value in her and PG Communication the most, Pallavi says that she and her team takes a brief and then present a strategy and a road map. They start rolling soon, taking very little time and effort from the client’s team. The client actually sees the real actions and delivery and enjoys the success stories.
Clients appreciate the vision and long-term strategies they bring to help build PR and boost their corporate image and brand recognition. They often hear from their many clients, “We love you and your team. You do take the load of us,” coming from CEOs, Senior Management of client Companies. “It is very humbling and a morale booster for us,” says Pallavi.
Keeping it Simple to Succeed
Speaking about Brand PG Communication’s USPs, Pallavi states, “Our motto in client servicing and customer care has been; ‘We keep it simple.”
All its customers have appreciated the working philosophy of PG Communication over the years. It reinforces Pallavi’s belief when clients compare their services with other agencies and often comment, ‘We like your transparent approach. It’s really easy to understand.’ and some clients don’t hesitate to add, ‘You guys don’t over commit and have delivered more results every time.’
“Such nice compliments make our day!!” says Pallavi.
Pallavi’s Simplest Business Success Mantra
As an experienced professional, Pallavi’s advice to the budding aspirants willing to enter the business world is creatively simple. According to her, all entrepreneurs must use creativity to develop ideas and strategies to address the ‘apparent’ or ‘latent’ needs of the target customer market.
Above all, she recommends to others, “Also please keep it ‘simple’ for the Customers. They need solutions and delivery, not big jargon. To add our business success mantra: Work real hard to build a ‘partnership’ with every customer, and Not just a ‘buyer-seller’ relationship.”
Powering Digital Communication Growth
When asked how she envisions PG Communication’s operations with the emerging technologies and automated tools that are revolutionizing the business world by enabling innovations, Pallavi says that this is an interesting question and adds to it her own; many may think, what will technology do to improve Corporate Communication?
Yes, communications and Public Relations are primarily human skill driven. However, research plays a significant role in this space. Pallavi adds, “My team uses many research tools for Industry/segments, client’s target market and competition analysis.”
Pallavi says they now have a new subsidiary called PG Digital–www.pgdigital.co.in–which uses tech platforms and continues to provide a lot of market intelligence to PG Communication and its clients. “This helps build better strategies for Communications and PR,” concludes Pallavi.
