Founders search for the method first. How to approach a journalist, how to write a release, what makes something newsworthy: answering that generously builds an audience of people who eventually conclude they need help.
Crisis searches arrive at the worst possible moment. Somebody typing them has hours, not weeks, and a page explaining what happens in the first day — and how to make contact immediately — is found by clients nobody competed for.
Specialism qualifies the retainer. Technology, healthcare, hospitality and financial services each have their own press pack and their own rules, and naming one attracts clients who are not comparing on price.
Money is searched before agencies are. Retainer costs, minimum terms and what a monthly fee includes come from people building an internal case, and answering plainly puts a firm on a list drawn up privately.