How Your Business Strategy Guides Your PR Strategy
Most people think they need a better PR strategy.
In reality, what they’re missing is a clearer business strategy.
PR and marketing don’t exist in a vacuum—they are expressions of the decisions you’ve already made (or avoided) about who your business is for, what you’re building, and how you want to grow. Without that foundation, PR can feel scattered, frustrating, or short-lived—no matter how strong the coverage looks on paper.
But once you’ve decided on your business strategy, the PR path becomes clear.
Business strategy comes first—always
One of Seth Godin’s central ideas is that you can’t have an effective marketing or PR strategy without first having a business strategy. Not a vague intention, but a set of real decisions.
Business strategy asks you to decide:
Who you are for (and who you are not)
The change you’re trying to make
The smallest viable audience you care deeply about
What you’re willing to say no to
The long-term game you’re playing
These are not branding exercises. They’re commitments. And they’re often uncomfortable, or just plain annoying because clarity requires exclusion and can be time consuming.
But, if you haven’t made these decisions, no amount of marketing or PR will feel like it’s working exactly right.
What marketing strategy actually does
Once business strategy is clear, marketing strategy becomes much simpler—and much harder to rush.
Marketing strategy isn’t about platforms or posting schedules. It’s about trust.
It’s how you show up consistently.
It’s the story you tell over time.
It’s how you signal “this is for you” to the right people.
It’s how you build permission, familiarity, and credibility.
Good marketing compounds. Bad marketing chases. The difference usually comes down to whether there’s a clear point of view underneath it.
Where PR fits (and where it doesn’t)
This is where things often get misunderstood.
PR is not the strategy itself. It’s a tactical amplifier.
When there’s a clear business strategy underneath, PR works beautifully—it reinforces positioning, builds credibility with the right audience, and compounds over time.
When there isn’t, PR can feel random. Coverage doesn’t connect. Features don’t build on each other. Momentum stalls.
PR doesn’t clarify your strategy—it exposes it.
The simplest way to think about it
This helps me decipher it all:
Business strategy decides the destination.
Marketing builds trust along the way.
PR amplifies the signal—once the signal is clear.
If the signal feels muddy, it’s rarely a PR problem. It’s usually a decision problem.
So what might you actually be missing?
When someone says, “I don’t have a strategy,” what they often mean is: I haven’t decided yet.
Decided who they’re really for.
Decided what they’re building toward.
Decided which opportunities they’re willing to pass on—even flattering ones.
Decided whether they’re playing a short game for attention or a long game for trust.
Strategy shows up the moment you start making those decisions.
And until then, no amount of marketing or PR will feel quite right.
