The PR Performance Equation (Part II)

By Michael Drew - May 30 , 2007

Last week, I discussed a great tool that you can share with your prospective authors who want a formula for gauging the effectiveness of their PR (Public Relations) campaign. I introduced you to a formula called the PR Performance Equation:MPo x [(SoV x IQ) x PEF] = Sales Volume or Books Sold

You’ll recall that I broke the master equation down into three bite-sized sub-equations to make it easier to digest:

Sub-equation 1: SoV x IQ = SMi

Sub-equation 2: SMi x PEF = SMa

Sub-equation 3: SMa x MPo = Sales Volume or Books Sold

Where:

SoV = Share of Voice
IQ = Impact Quotient
SMi = Share of Mind
PEF = Personal Experience Factor
SMa = Share of Market
MPo = Market Potential

The bulk of my discussion last week revolved around the first of those three subequations:

SoV x IQ = SMi

More specifically, I discussed how your author’s media saturation (SoV, or Share of Voice) and message (IQ, Impact Quotient) work together to position him as an authority in the mind of his audience (SMi, or Share of Mind).

Today, I’m going to work through sub-equation 2, which entails how an author’s ‘position’ (SMi) interacts with the experience the author delivers (PEF) to determine his market share (SMa).

These relationships are depicted in the second of the three sub-equations:

SMi x PEF = SMa

Share of Mind (SMi)
To refresh your memory about SMI or Share of Mind, you’ll recall that it refers to the ‘mental equity’ your author’s name carries in the minds of his audience compared to the names of his competitors. Do people think of him as ‘the authority’ when they have a need that falls within his expertise? Or do they think of someone else? Remember, Share of Mind is the product of Share of Voice times Impact Quotient (see above).

And that means, the more dominant your author’s reach and frequency, the less impact his message has to have for him to hold a position of value in the mind of the audience. Looking at it from the other side, the more impact your author’s message provides, the less reach and frequency it takes to maintain that same position.

Can you see how Share of Voice and Impact Quotient directly affect one another? Your author’s goal, of course, is to be as strong as he can with both these variables.

Personal Experience Factor (PEF)
Personal Experience Factor is the totality of the experience your author delivers to his audience, including every touch point of their exposure to him: websites, seminars, newsletters, magazine articles—the overall effect of everything. How good is he at what he does? Does his experience meet the audience’s expectations? Does it exceed them? Does it fall short?

As you did with Impact Quotient, you can assign a value of 1 for an average PEF. That means, if your author delivers a set of experiences that are fifty percent better than his competitors’ set of experiences, his Personal Experience Factor is (1.5). And if the experience is fifty percent worse, his Personal Experience Factor falls to (.5).

Share of Market (SMa)
Share of Market is pretty straightforward. If 100 books are purchased in your author’s field of expertise, how many of them are his? Remember, Share of Market is the product of Share of Mind times Personal Experience Factor:

SMi x PEF = SMa

The important correlation to make here is the one between the experience your author delivers (PEF) and his market share (SMa). Ultimately, market share hinges on how good the audience feels about their experience with him. Let’s look at what happens to it when we plug in a good experience and then one that’s not so good:

30% SMi x 1.5 PEF = 45% SMa

OR

30% SMi x .5 PEF = 15% SMa

Can you see how the growth or decline of your author’s Share of Market flows directly from the PEF he delivers? What is his reputation in the marketplace? Does he exceed expectations to a degree that he leaves people wanting more? Are they recommending him to their friends? Or does he leave them searching for a better option?

Next week, we’ll wrap up the discussion on the PR Performance Equation by discussing the effect that your author’s market type has on book sales.

Questions about the PR Performance Equation may be directed to Michael R. Drew at the Austin, Texas, headquarters of Promote A Book: 512-858-0040. You can also contact Michael via email at Michael@promoteabook.com.