How Do You Choose the Right PR Agency for Your Small Business?
By Jordan Baker, Founder of Fair Public Relations and former UK national journalist
If I were spending my own money on a PR agency tomorrow, I would not begin by asking which agency had the biggest office, the longest client list or the most recognisable logo on its homepage.
I would want to know whether they understood my business.
I would want to know what they actually thought journalists might care about.
I would want them to tell me where the campaign could struggle, not simply give me twenty reasons I should sign today.
And I would want to understand exactly what happens after the salesperson disappears and I become a client.
Small businesses can spend anything from hundreds to many thousands of pounds or dollars every month on PR. The size of the retainer does not automatically tell you whether the agency is good, and a famous agency is not automatically the best fit for a founder-led business.
The right agency is the one whose strategy, experience, team, scope, price and way of working make sense for what your business is actually trying to achieve.
That sounds obvious.
It is surprisingly easy to forget once the sales presentations begin.
How should a small business choose a PR agency?
Start with yourself rather than the agencies.
What do you want PR to achieve?
Do you want journalists to recognise your founder as an expert?
Are you launching a consumer product?
Do you need national brand visibility?
Is the objective editorial backlinks and online authority?
Are you trying to become better known inside one specialist industry?
Do you want a press office that can continuously find media opportunities?
Or do you need something much bigger, such as investor relations, corporate reputation management or crisis communications?
Until you understand that, comparing two PR proposals is extremely difficult.
An agency can be excellent and still be wrong for you.
What five questions would I personally ask?
If it were my money, these are the questions I would want answered before I signed anything.
1. Have you worked with a business like mine before, and can I see the evidence?
I do not necessarily need the agency to have represented my identical business model.
But I want to know whether it understands this sort of campaign.
Show me relevant case studies.
Show me the articles.
Explain what the strategy was.
Tell me how long the campaign ran.
Where possible, explain what changed for the client beyond simply obtaining a few logos for a slide.
2. What do you think the limitations of my campaign are?
This is one of my favourite questions because it is very difficult to answer well if somebody is only interested in selling.
I want an agency prepared to tell me:
"This part is strong, but this could be difficult."
"If you insist on only promoting that product, I think coverage will be limited."
"You do not currently have the data we would need for that story."
"Your founder is credible, but they will have to be much more available."
That is useful advice.
3. What would you want me to do to get the most value from the campaign?
PR clients have responsibilities too.
Perhaps you need to respond quickly.
Perhaps you need professional photography.
Maybe the agency wants access to your expertise.
Perhaps your website needs improving first.
Maybe you need to become more open-minded about subjects your founder can discuss.
The agency should be capable of explaining what it needs from you.
4. Which publications would you target and why?
I am less interested in hearing a list of famous media names than understanding the thinking.
Why this title?
Why this audience?
What kind of story would you pitch them?
Would you target national newspapers, consumer media, trade publications, local media or something else?
If the answer is simply "Forbes, BBC, The Times, The Telegraph and Daily Mail" for every client, I would want to dig considerably deeper.
5. How will the account actually work, and what should I expect over time?
Who does the strategy?
Who writes?
Who speaks to journalists?
Who is my account manager?
What happens in month one?
What should I realistically be looking for around month three?
How does the strategy develop over months six, nine and twelve?
What happens if things do not work?
A good agency should be able to explain the process without pretending it knows exactly how many articles you will receive on a particular date.
What type of PR support do you actually need?
The word "PR agency" covers a huge range of businesses.
A freelancer can be excellent for a focused project, specialist advice or a smaller scope.
A boutique earned-media agency may suit a founder or small business wanting ongoing media relations with close senior involvement.
A large integrated communications agency may make much more sense for a major company requiring corporate communications, crisis support, international teams, public affairs, events and numerous stakeholder groups.
A highly specialist technology or finance consultancy might be appropriate where technical knowledge and a narrow media ecosystem matter enormously.
None of those models is universally best.
Fair's existing comparison guides make the same distinction between freelancers, boutique agencies and larger firms.
The right model depends on the work.
Can the agency explain why your business might be newsworthy?
This is one of the quickest tests of strategic ability.
I want them to talk about your business.
What are the possible stories?
What expertise can the founder credibly own?
Could the customer data become interesting?
Is there a real-life story?
Does the product fit particular features?
Would trade media be stronger than national media?
What is happening in the wider news that connects with the company?
If all you hear is a description of the agency, I would worry.
PR requires editorial judgement.
The proposal should contain evidence that somebody has already started thinking like a journalist.
Industry specialism helps, but it is not everything
If I were comparing two agencies I liked equally, at a similar price, and one had significant relevant sector experience while the other had none, I would probably choose the specialist.
They have a head start.
They may already understand which journalists cover the space.
They may know how those journalists like to receive pitches.
They understand the terminology.
They may understand seasonal patterns.
They may already know which angles are routinely ignored.
In regulated areas, specialism can become even more valuable because the agency needs to understand the difference between interesting commentary and something the spokesperson should not responsibly say.
But I would not make specialism an absolute requirement in every sector.
Every agency once had its first restaurant client, its first medical client or its first travel client.
Fair did too.
If an agency tells me openly that this is one of its first campaigns in my exact niche, but then presents a thoughtful strategy based on transferable media experience, I would not automatically reject it.
Transparency matters.
Who will actually work on your account?
Ask this before signing.
It is very common in agencies for senior people to lead the sales process and for more junior staff to handle parts of delivery afterwards.
That is not inherently wrong.
A good agency should use different levels of experience efficiently.
The problem is discovering after signing that the person whose expertise persuaded you to buy is almost completely absent from the work.
Ask for names.
Ask about roles.
Ask who develops strategy.
Ask who signs off content.
Ask who actually pitches journalists.
Ask who will be on account calls.
Ask what happens if your main contact leaves.
And ask yourself whether you actually like communicating with these people.
PR is collaborative. You will probably speak to them quite a lot.
How Fair's team model works
Fair's model is intentionally founder-led.
I remain directly involved in client accounts, lead strategy and join account calls, while a dedicated wider team supports content, pitching, media opportunities, monitoring and delivery. That structure is also described on the current Standard PR page.
Typically there are several people involved rather than one person trying to do everything.
What matters to me is that the client knows that before they sign.
Different agency models are valid.
Surprises are not.
How should you assess a case study?
Verify it.
Case studies are incredibly useful, but remember what they are.
An agency is obviously going to put its strongest work on its own website.
We do.
Everybody does.
That is not dishonest. It simply means you should read a case study intelligently.
If it says a client was featured in a publication, click the article.
Check the publication.
Look at the actual context.
Was the client the central feature or one quotation among twenty people?
Either can be valuable, but they are different outcomes.
If the agency quotes a third-party metric, check what it means.
If it publishes a client review, see whether that review exists where the agency says it does.
If you are particularly serious, look at the client's wider online presence and see whether the story being presented makes sense.
Good proof should survive basic scrutiny.
Be careful with famous publication names
This is one area where buyers need to pay attention to detail.
A familiar media brand can appear in many contexts.
There may be regional editions, partner properties, licensed publications, contributor networks, syndication arrangements or commercial sections.
Those things are not automatically bad.
But they are not necessarily identical to being independently commissioned by the flagship newsroom people have in mind when they hear the name.
My advice is simple:
Click the article. Check the actual domain. Understand what you are buying.
If guaranteed placement is part of the package, ask precisely how it is guaranteed.
What does guaranteed media coverage actually mean?
Independent earned media is controlled by editors and journalists.
A PR agency can improve the pitch.
It can have strong relationships.
It can know the journalist well.
It can make a story considerably more likely to land.
It cannot force an independent editor to publish something.
Fair's current terms are explicit on this point: coverage, backlinks, publication timing and specific outlets are not guaranteed because editorial decisions remain with the publication.
So if another agency guarantees publication, ask what kind of publication arrangement it is referring to.
It may be legitimate paid editorial, advertorial, a newswire, syndication or another commercial publishing product.
If that is what you want and the agency describes it accurately, fine.
The problem is only when a commercial placement is sold as though it were indistinguishable from independently earned journalism.
What should a monthly PR retainer actually include?
There is no universal scope.
But you should know what yours includes.
Strategy.
Research.
Angle development.
Writing.
Proactive media outreach.
Reactive opportunities where applicable.
Account management.
Monitoring.
Reporting.
Interview support.
Some agencies include all of those.
Others charge for some separately.
Some retainers contain a defined number of days.
Some focus narrowly on media relations.
Some bundle social media, events or influencer relations.
This is why comparing headline prices can be misleading.
A £1,000 retainer doing one thing is not necessarily cheaper than a £3,000 retainer doing four things you genuinely need.
How much should a small business pay?
There is no standard tariff.
Fair's existing pricing research shows an enormous range across freelancers, boutique firms and traditional agencies, with specialist and London-based programmes often costing several thousand pounds or dollars per month.
Fair currently charges £797 per month in the UK, US$997 in the US, and CAD1,497 in Canada for Standard PR.
That is unusually low compared with many traditional boutique retainers, but I would never argue that a £797 service is the same thing as a £15,000 corporate communications programme.
It is not.
The question is whether the scope matches the need.
Cheap can be wrong and expensive can be wrong
A service can simply be too cheap to deliver the workload it promises.
If an agency charges almost nothing but promises huge amounts of bespoke research, senior strategy, daily journalist outreach and endless account management, I would want to understand the economics.
Equally, paying £10,000 a month does not automatically make an agency right for a small founder-led business.
You could be paying for infrastructure you do not need.
Choose a sustainable level.
PR works much better when the business can afford to give it time without panicking every month about the invoice.
What should you ask about media relationships?
Ask what the agency means by "relationships".
I have worked in journalism and PR for years. Relationships can absolutely help.
If I know a journalist's interests, how they work and what sorts of stories they normally cover, I can pitch more intelligently.
If I have helped them repeatedly in the past, they may recognise my name.
That creates familiarity.
It does not create editorial obligation.
A journalist will still ignore a bad story.
Be wary of "little black book" selling if nobody can explain the actual campaign idea.
The story has to work.
Communication matters more than glamorous sales presentations
How does the agency communicate?
Email?
WhatsApp?
Portal?
Calls?
How quickly should you expect a response?
How frequently do you get updates?
What happens when a journalist needs something in an hour?
Who handles approvals?
There is no one correct system.
But you need to know whether it works for you.
Fair currently provides a private WhatsApp group, client portal, fortnightly written updates and a monthly account call.
Another agency may work differently.
Clarity is the important part.
What should you check in the contract?
Read it.
That sounds ridiculously obvious.
Businesses regularly sign contracts based almost entirely on the sales conversation.
Understand:
the minimum term;
renewal;
notice period;
how cancellation actually has to be submitted;
what fees are refundable or non-refundable;
what happens during the notice period;
what services are included;
what costs extra;
what cooperation the agency expects from you;
what happens to live journalist conversations when you leave.
This is general buying advice, not legal advice. If you are unsure what a contract means, get appropriate independent advice before signing.
Fair's current commitment and cancellation model
Fair currently uses an initial three-month commitment, after which the service continues on a rolling monthly basis subject to one full billing cycle's notice. The current terms specify that cancellation must be completed through the designated portal and one final billing cycle applies after cancellation is submitted.
Why structure it like that?
PR needs time.
We need to build the campaign, learn what journalists respond to and establish a working rhythm with the client.
At the same time, I do not want clients trapped for a year if everybody can see the relationship is not working.
The notice period also allows an account to be wound down professionally, live conversations to be handled properly and staffing to be planned.
Whatever agency you choose, understand its equivalent before signing.
Warning signs I would take seriously
I would be cautious about vague deliverables.
I would be cautious about an agency unwilling to tell me who is actually doing the work.
I would question guarantees around major editorial publications.
I would investigate hidden extra charges.
I would look carefully at a very long lock-in period.
I would be concerned if the agency could not show relevant, verifiable work.
And I would worry if nobody asked difficult questions about my business during the sales process.
Good PR requires curiosity.
If the agency has decided the campaign will be brilliant before it knows anything meaningful about you, that is not necessarily confidence.
It may simply be sales.
Two hypothetical proposals
Imagine a small medical business receives two proposals.
Agency A costs £1,000 a month. It offers founder-led expert positioning, health-media outreach, content creation and ongoing account management. It has several healthcare case studies and explains that the founder will need to respond quickly to relevant journalist questions.
Agency B costs £5,000 a month. It includes corporate communications strategy, crisis preparation, stakeholder messaging, executive media training, events advice and a broader integrated communications programme.
Which is better?
If the business simply wants ongoing expert PR, Agency A may be considerably better value.
If the company is preparing for major regulatory scrutiny, has investors, several senior executives and significant reputational risk, Agency B may be far more appropriate despite costing five times as much.
Price only makes sense alongside need.
A practical PR agency comparison scorecard
Use something like this as a decision aid rather than a scientific formula:
| Area | Agency A | Agency B | What I would examine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relevant experience | /10 | /10 | Have they genuinely done comparable work? |
| Proposed strategy | /10 | /10 | Can they explain why journalists may care? |
| Evidence | /10 | /10 | Are case studies and coverage verifiable? |
| Account team | /10 | /10 | Who actually does the work? |
| Senior involvement | /10 | /10 | Does experienced oversight continue after sale? |
| Responsiveness | /10 | /10 | Is communication practical and clear? |
| Scope | /10 | /10 | Does the service include what you actually need? |
| Cost sustainability | /10 | /10 | Can you afford to give PR a sensible period? |
| Contract clarity | /10 | /10 | Do you understand term, notice and extras? |
| Honesty | /10 | /10 | Will they discuss limitations as well as opportunities? |
I would weight honesty and strategic fit extremely highly.
When is Fair PR not the right agency?
This is important.
Fair is primarily an earned-media press-office and content-led PR agency.
We are particularly good at ongoing media outreach, expert commentary, founder positioning, consumer PR, story development and building both quick opportunities and longer-term media authority.
We are not built as the ideal provider for every communications problem.
If you need highly technical specialist PR to a tiny niche of technical journalists, a specialist agency may be better.
If you need investor relations, major corporate communications, crisis management, substantial event management, celebrity management or a large integrated global programme, there are firms designed specifically for that.
We have experience of some of those areas.
They are not what our current £797/US997/CAD1,497 Standard PR model is designed to deliver. Fair's existing boutique-agency guidance makes the same distinction around complex corporate, crisis, stakeholder and large-scale communications requirements.
I would rather lose an enquiry than take somebody's money for the wrong service.
How responsive should an agency be before you sign?
Sales responsiveness can tell you something, but do not become ridiculous about it.
One delayed email does not prove the agency will be terrible.
People have meetings.
They take weekends.
They get sick.
But if communication is consistently vague, difficult or slow before you have paid them, it is reasonable to ask whether things will somehow become dramatically better afterwards.
Look for patterns rather than one-off incidents.
What does a strong proposal feel like?
Specific.
I want to recognise my own business in it.
It should explain where the media opportunities are likely to come from.
It should make clear what the agency will do.
It should make clear what I have to do.
It should explain the limitations.
It should show relevant evidence.
It should be clear about money.
It should tell me who is involved.
And when I finish reading it, I should understand why this particular PR strategy exists for this particular business.
That is much more persuasive than a fifty-page credentials deck.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether a PR agency is good?
Look at verifiable case studies, the quality of its strategic thinking, who actually delivers the account, how clearly it explains limitations and whether the service fits your objectives and budget.
Should a small business choose a specialist PR agency?
Sometimes. Sector knowledge can offer a useful head start, particularly in technical or regulated fields. But strong editorial judgement and transparent strategy can also transfer successfully between sectors.
Is a boutique PR agency better than a large agency?
Neither is universally better. Boutique agencies may offer closer senior involvement, while larger agencies can provide broader communications resources and specialist departments.
What questions should I ask before hiring a PR agency?
Ask about relevant experience, limitations, what you need to contribute, target publications, who delivers the account, likely timescales, costs and contract terms.
What should a PR proposal include?
A clear strategy, likely media opportunities, scope, team, working process, reporting arrangements, pricing, contractual terms and realistic expectations.
How much should I budget?
It depends on the scope and agency model. Compare what is actually included rather than using price alone as a proxy for quality.
Can a PR agency guarantee newspaper coverage?
Independent editorial coverage cannot sensibly be guaranteed because the publication retains editorial control. If guaranteed publication is being sold, ask whether it is a commercial placement, advertorial, syndication or another model.
What should I check before signing the contract?
Minimum term, cancellation process, notice period, renewal arrangements, extra costs, client responsibilities, refund terms and exactly what the agency is obliged to deliver.
Should I choose a freelancer or agency?
A freelancer can be excellent for a focused brief or direct senior support. An agency may be more useful where you need a team, broader capacity and ongoing campaign management.
How Would I Choose?
I would choose the agency that tells me the truth.
Not the one that promises the most publications.
Not automatically the cheapest.
Not automatically the most expensive.
I want a team that understands why journalists might care, can show me evidence that it knows what it is doing, explains where the problems may be and gives me enough confidence in the process to work with it for a sensible period.
PR is too uncertain for blind optimism.
A good agency should make the uncertainty manageable through strategy, experience, communication, transparency and judgement.
That is what I would pay for.
Written by Jordan Baker
Founder of Fair Public Relations and former UK national journalist
Jordan Baker is the founder of Fair Public Relations and a former UK national journalist with more than a decade of PR experience. He writes about choosing PR support, media strategy, journalist relations, agency pricing and how small businesses can assess whether professional PR is right for them.
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