With almost a decade of experience in the communications industry, Neha Bahri is the Founder of Bconnect Communications and our next feature in the PR Women Entrepreneurs series on Medianews4u.
Bconnect Communications is a new age integrated communication consultancy firm that helps businesses in constructing, communicating, and cultivating their image in the minds of their target audience.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Bconnect was founded by Neha and offers innovative communication solutions that are custom designed for every stage of business.
Read on.
As a women entrepreneur in the PR business, how are you coping with the impact of Covid-19 and what are the strategies you are building for your clients?
I am on a verge of completing a decade in the communication industry. I have worked across the three sides of triangle- PR agencies, Journalism/Blogging & Corporate and marketing communication. I have transitioned seamlessly from a seasoned PR professional to a mother and now, an entrepreneur. The current pandemic period has been very crucial to me as an entrepreneur and I have been able to reap benefits of my hard work. In fact, I took the bold step to begin entrepreneurship when I was Covid19 positive. I started my own integrated marketing firm, the foundation of which I had laid in 2017.
During the pandemic, we have witnessed close to 2x growth and the major clients that we captured were from the healthcare sector and start-ups in agriculture and digital space.
The pandemic around the world has changed the way we communicate in today’s time. It doesn’t only hold true for public relations but also for social media & digital landscape. We ensured that the client do not only rely on the earned & paid media but also work across the owned media as owned media is an integral part of communication in today’s scenario.
How are you helping brands navigate through the pandemic and what is the basis of your messaging strategy?
It was utmost important to explain the brands about the current pandemic scenario in media. Hence, it was crucial to provide media training to the brands, specifically the new age brands. At the same time, we gave our clients a personalized touch which further strengthens our relationship with them.
We ensured that brand used the right mix of channels to deliver right message to the target audience. We took strategic steps for ensuring each message is delivered in the right time with the help of media like traditional media and social platforms like Instagram-Twitter -Facebook.
What makes your agency different and unique from the rest of the competition?
We are the only agency which does not have a business development team. Every client we have won is through the references of our previous clients. We have put in the hard work and that has paid off. The organization has now started accepting WFH or no physical meeting. All our businesses have been sealed over virtual platforms.
How did you keep the morale of the employees during this lockdown period? On a personal note, what is keeping you positive?
The faith of our clients kept us (employees and me) positive during the novel pandemic. In fact during the lockdown we ensured that the employees remain empowered and we believed in the thought process of the employees.
As the market scenario was not in favour, we saw brands cutting down the budget for their marketing and some halted the on-going communication processes. However, that was not the case with us. We saw brands approaching us for the PR as they understood it was important to keep the momentum on.
Nonetheless, the brands went ahead for a diligent communication strategy instead of a rigorous one. So, I could say that I could stay positive even when I was Covid-19 positive.
What are some of the post-lockdown business strategies that you will use to win new clients?
I think the strategy which we used during lockdown worked for us. For another six months, we shall go with the same strategies as the media landscape is slowly and gradually coming to the normal. We are keeping a pace with the on-going sectors.
Definitely, we look forward to working with some bigger brands now.
What is that one special mantra you want to give to the millennials joining the PR Profession?
Research is the key to the Public Relations.
Do ensure you do a lot of research; keep an eye on the competitors, and the media. It is the basis of any sort of communication and it helps you sail your boat in the market.
Keep learning, as we are in a volatile market which keeps changing with blink of eyes. As innovation is what everyone demands, I keep attending various sessions even today.
Post-Covid-19, what would be your advice to your clients on ways to do effective communication?
I believe in the importance of all the three mediums — Owned media, Earned Media & Paid Media. They are equally important today. One has to look out which media they must use to reach out to their target audience and what message they want to deliver.
