PR builds growth long before trouble arrives

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Read History Go to My Account Log Out Enhanced by Google BDSunday PR builds growth long before trouble arrives Founders in Nigeria often treat PR like a jerrycan of fuel in the corner. They ignore it until the lights

Listen to this article Share Founders in Nigeria often treat PR like a jerrycan of fuel in the corner. They ignore it until the lights go out, then run for it. By then a customer has posted a complaint, a screenshot has travelled through WhatsApp groups, and a statement written in panic cannot catch it. Teams lose customers, staff and sleep because nobody spoke to the public until the public began speaking about them. I have watched it happen, and it hurts, because it did not have to happen.

The evidence points to speaking early. Edelman’s 2024 Trust Barometer, which surveyed 28 countries, found that 63% of people trust business, against 51% for the government and 50% for the media. Nigeria has more than 200 million people, and Africa has about 1.4 billion. Most of them decide what to buy by asking someone they trust. Trust sits with companies, and companies that earn it before trouble arrives are believed when trouble arrives.

What PR Does Before Anything Goes Wrong PR is the habit of being known for what you do and why you do it. In practice, it means putting founders and staff in front of journalists, podcast and radio hosts, and conference audiences, so people meet humans, not only logos. It means turning launches, hires and milestones into stories that travel beyond your own page, giving customers a reason to recommend you to family and friends, and building relationships with reporters before you need a favour.

How PR Turns Attention into Growth Attention without trust fades. Attention with trust becomes revenue. Here is where it shows up: in sales, buyers search your name before they pay, and coverage shapes what they find; in hiring, graduates and experienced staff read about employers before they apply; in investment, investors back founders they have heard of and trust; and in partnerships, people reply to names they recognise. Every item on that list grows from the same root: somebody decided to speak when nobody forced them to.

Start at Home, Then Cross the Continent Your first audience lives around you. Customers in Lagos, Kano and Enugu talk to each other, and word of mouth moves faster than any campaign. Earn their trust, and the story spreads through markets, offices, churches, mosques and group chats.

● Win Nigeria first by showing up on radio, television, newspapers and social platforms that people here use daily.

● Carry that record into Accra, Nairobi, Kigali and Johannesburg, where editors and buyers ask who you are and who vouches for you.

● Take the same record to London, New York and Dubai, where investors and partners check the story before they reply to your email.

The order matters. A brand that people trust at home does not need to explain itself abroad. Its history speaks for it.

What to Do on Monday Morning You do not need the budget of a multinational. You need a decision to start and a few habits you keep.

● Write what your company stands for in one sentence.

● Share news on a schedule and not only when forced.

● Answer journalists and customers with speed and honesty.

● Name a spokesperson, draft a holding statement and rehearse before trouble arrives.

● Listen to what people say about your business, and reply.

Crisis comes for every business. It arrives through a product that fails, a post sent in haste, an email that escapes, a supplier who lets you down. When it comes, people decide in seconds whether to believe you or doubt you, and they decide based on what they already know. A company that spoke to them for years gets a hearing. A company that stayed silent gets a verdict.

Trust is built in the months when nothing happens. Nobody applauds the work, and nobody notices it until the day it matters. On that day, it matters more than anything else in your budget.

Stop keeping PR in the corner with the jerrycan. Put it to work now, while nothing burns, and let it carry your business from your street to the rest of the world.

.Ochugbua is a results-driven media and marketing leader with 17+ years of experience, including 12 in the media industry. As Digital Sales Manager at BusinessDay Media, she drives digital revenue growth, leads high-performing teams, and delivers innovative advertising solutions. A certified APCON member and award-winning professional, Linda is passionate about mentorship, storytelling, and building transformative platforms in Africa’s media space.