Abstract
Public relations (PR) practitioners are pressured to justify their communication function as well as its effect on the bottom line for the organisation (Holtzhausen, 2005:414). However, PR practitioners are unable to fulfil the expectations of their clients due to perceived theoretical expectations leading to client satisfaction issues (Fam & Waller, 2008:2). This may impact directly on the sustainability of the client-agency relationship (Davies & Prince, 2011:146) which may result in the loss of clientele and income (Chen & Popovich, 2003: 67).
The purpose of the study was to determine how managing and understanding client-PR agency relationships, while paying attention to both perspectives, can lead to its sustainability.
This study aimed to answer the research questions through exploratory qualitative research. Data was collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Six client representatives and six senior PR consultants were interviewed for the purpose of this study. The Huberman, Miles and Saldana (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006: 80) method of analysis was then applied to analyse the data.
It was concluded that managing expectations using communication and dialogue can result in a sustainable client-agency relationship. When reviewing relationship outcomes, clients appear to be more concerned with service deliver while consultants value the relationship as an outcome in itself. It was also noted that unknown to the clients as well as the consultants, external factors pose the biggest threat to the client-agency relationship. These findings may assist in solving a business problem by exploring the expectations that play a role in the outcome of client-agency relationships within the context of strategic communication.
M.A. (Strategic Communication)