Online Program Set to Help Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses Find and Connect with Customers

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Innovative Public Relations (www.innovativeprnc.com) is launching an online training program to give entrepreneurs and small business owners an unfair advantage over competitors. The new PR101, PR201, and PR301 courses will give participants working knowledge of how to develop and maintain an effective professional public relations (PR) program to leap-frog competitors in a crowded marketplace and attract eager investors, pre-qualified customers and talented employees. “Startups need to be making money, not spending money,” said David Menzies, Innovative Public Relations president.


“Boot-strapping entrepreneurs and small businesses can use all the help they can get finding and connecting with customers. Public relations is the most cost-effective form of outreach with the highest return on investment for startups and established businesses alike get their products and services in front of target audiences,” he added.

Menzies will be teaching the courses, which are based on the numerous presentations and group and individual training sessions he has hosted for clients throughout his professional career. Participants will come away from these programs with the knowledge and training necessary to build, launch, and manage their own PR plans, or hire outside PR vendors without being taken for a ride.

“Public relations isn’t brain surgery. You don’t need to be funneling $20k a month to some New York agency to reach your target constituencies,” Menzies explained.

Each three-week course will incorporate webinars and conference calls, featuring live interaction with Menzies including written feedback on participant materials. Supporting documentation will be emailed to registered participants after each event, and each webinar will be archived for 90 days in a password-protected area for access by participants at a later date. The first course, PR101 - Foundations, begins July 10 and will explain the difference and relationship between PR, marketing, and advertising, in addition to introducing the tools and methodologies that make up a professional PR plan. Specific elements of the course will include identifying good and bad publicity opportunities; time management and running your PR plan; deciding who should run your PR plan internally; the do’s and don’ts in using outside vendors; and  setting-up benchmarks to track success, among others.

Information on PR101 - Foundations, PR201 - Outreach, and PR301 - Leverage are available online at http://www.innovativeprnc.com/online-courses/

Innovative Public Relations offers PR services, consulting, and individual and group training on getting products and services in front of target audiences. Operating out of the technology-rich Research Triangle region of North Carolina, Innovative Public Relations serves established businesses and startups in the pharmaceutical, government, defense, homeland security, biometrics, engineering, general technology, software, health care, biotechnology, law, retail and nonprofit sectors among others. Award-winning company president David Menzies develops and manages customized innovative communication plans for clients to expand their customer base, increase sales, and realize a successful return on investment for business development, advertising, marketing and PR efforts. For more information visit www.innovativeprnc.com