By: Rick Spence

Rick Spence — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:25:44 +0000

But in thse days of social media pioneering and experimentation, how can you possibly deterine what the value of the finished project will be for the client?
And if you base your fee on some portion of that estimated value, what is your defence if results do not meet expectations?

By: Carol Levine APR FCPRS

Carol Levine APR FCPRS — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:31:15 +0000

I have always lived by the concept of “a quality hour worked, is a quality hour billed”. That said, public relations practitioners, like other professional advisors, chartered accountant and lawyers for example, need to look at a number of factors in determining pricing. In addition to overhead you would want to consider the market conditions (the current downturn has made clients even more sensitive to cost); competition (how many other consultants do what you do?)If the service you offer is seen as a commodity and not a premium value service, then you will need to get a handle on what your competitors would charge. Be competitive. A sole practitioner will likely be able to execute the work at a lower cost than an organization with greater resources and infrastructure. At the end of the day what you have to sell is your time and expertise – even if you agree to a project fee, or retainer, you need to measure thia against the time you put in as well as the ingenuity of your counselling abilities. Another consideration is to break down the types of services you will be providing. Although you have many years of experience, your pricing should reflect the various tasks you will perform (not charging the client the same rate for administrative and project supervision as you would for strategic counsel). Typically a larger agency would have a number of staff levels involved in a project.

Comments on: How would you charge for public relations services?

By: Rick Spence

By: Carol Levine APR FCPRS