Most companies start PR too late

I’ve heard it too many times to count, “We’ve never done PR before and are getting ready to announce [insert your major milestone of choice]”

Too often, businesses wait until they have big news to begin thinking about strategic communications. They’re about to close a funding round, launch a product, or enter a new market.

But here’s the thing: If you’re just starting to think about PR now, you’re already behind.

After nearly 20 years leading communications for fintech companies and financial institutions, I can confidently say that the organizations that benefit most from major announcements began building visibility long before the moment arrived.

WHY COMPANIES START TOO LATE

Teams often assume their news will attract attention. That their announcement will prove their credibility. That the story will tell itself with the build it and they will come mentality.

That’s seldom how it works. The mistake is assuming trust can be built on the same timeline as attention. These moments reveal whether credibility already exists.

Psychologists call this tendency to underestimate how long it takes to build something meaningful the planning fallacy. In business, it shows up in many ways. One example is believing that trust can be established the moment people start paying attention.

Think about your own reaction to news. When a company you’ve never heard of announces a major milestone, you might ask “Who is this?” and quickly return to scrolling. But when a company you’ve seen and heard about shares similar news, your reaction is different.

That difference is momentum.

5 SIGNS IT’S TIME TO INVEST IN PR

So how do you know when it’s time to invest in PR? Here are five signs.

1. You have something to say.

One of the clearest signs a company is ready for PR is having a point of view. You need to have something to say and be able to connect it to what you do.

That means being able to explain what’s changing, what’s broken, and why your approach matters now. It requires proof points and substance, not just commentary.

This matters even more in the age of AI search and discovery. Research from Muck Rack shows generative AI relies heavily on earned media, making media validation essential for modern brand discovery.

Your narrative will take shape with or without you. The question is whether you’re actively taking steps to shape it.

2. You know your story and what makes you different.

Companies ready for PR can clearly articulate what makes them different, why it matters, and how it connects to their broader goals. Without that clarity, early communications efforts often feel reactive and fragmented. With it, every media interaction reinforces the same story.

In a conversation with me, Shahzeb Khan, head of marketing for the Americas at Amdocs, put it this way: “A fundamental question I ask myself is whether our story is differentiated and not just noise, credible and backed by facts and observations, and whether it advances a meaningful perspective in the market and supports a strategic business priority.”

3. Leadership is aligned and willing to commit.

PR cannot succeed as a side project. Crucially, it requires leadership participation.

Khan noted that leadership alignment can be the catalyst for thought leadership. But that thought leadership must come from somewhere—from executives willing to offer perspective, speak with media, and contribute to industry conversations.

Without that participation, momentum stalls before it starts.

And it must be a long-term commitment. PR isn’t a one-time campaign. Once you’re ready for it, it becomes an ongoing part of how the company communicates with the market.

4. Your team can support the attention you create.

You also need to ask whether your organization is prepared to support the attention PR creates.

Do you have a strong website? Clear messaging? A responsive sales team? Supporting content? And can you move quickly when opportunities appear?

Kenon Chen, EVP of strategy and growth at Clear Capital, described to me the moment he knew they were ready: “We had a marketing team ready to support and capitalize on successful PR activities. The right team ready to go after a bigger mission is the perfect time to lean into proactive communications.”

5. Your audience encompasses more than just customers.

Eventually, growth depends on influencing decision-makers beyond your customer base—analysts, investors, media, partners, and regulators.

“After clearly defining our three-year company strategy, we realized that we needed [to have] greater influence on multiple industry stakeholders beyond potential clients to achieve our goals,” said Chen.

MOMENTUM DOESN’T WAIT

These five signs don’t all appear at once. When most are true, that’s your moment.

The mistake is waiting for perfect conditions that never arrive. Momentum builds through consistency, not perfection.

The companies whose stories are heard? They invested in communications before they had big news to share.Grace Keith Rodriguez is the CEO at Caliber Corporate Advisers.

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