A business owner receives three PR proposals with three very different monthly figures. None of them explains how many hours are involved, who is doing the work or what happens when something falls outside the scope.
So they choose on price, which is usually the worst possible basis for a relationship built on judgement.
What clients ask
Clients usually ask how much PR costs, what a retainer includes, how many hours they get, whether there is a minimum term, what happens if they need something extra, who actually works on the account, whether reporting is included, whether they can pause during quiet periods and whether project work is possible instead.
Example conversations
These scripts use information an agency might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Client: What does your retainer include? Assistant: The pricing page sets out each retainer level with the scope covered, including media relations, content and reporting, and the minimum engagement period. It also explains which activities sit outside a retainer and are quoted separately, such as events and paid promotion.
Client: How many hours do I get? Assistant: The page explains how the retainer is structured, including the team time allocated at each level and who works on the account. It also covers what happens in a month where activity is lighter or heavier than usual.
Client: Can we do a project rather than a retainer? Assistant: Yes. The page lists the project options with typical fees, such as a launch campaign or a single announcement, along with the lead time needed.
Publish a minimum
The kindest thing an agency can publish is the level below which it cannot work effectively. Businesses under that threshold find out immediately rather than after two meetings, and those above it arrive knowing the conversation is serious.
Explain what sits outside
Events, paid media, photography, video, design and crisis work are frequently assumed to be included. Listing what is outside the retainer, and how it is priced, prevents the resentment that builds when every request generates an additional invoice.
Seniority matters
Clients care who is doing the work. Explaining the team structure, and who they will deal with day to day, is often what distinguishes agencies at similar price points.
Notice periods and pausing
Clients worry about being tied in while results build. Publishing the minimum term, the notice period and whether a retainer can be paused during a quiet season or a budget freeze removes an objection that otherwise delays a decision for months. Agencies that allow a sensible pause usually keep clients longer than those that insist on continuity.
Results and reporting
What is reported, how often and against what measures. Avoid promising coverage volumes, which is the honesty covered in PR enquiries from businesses that want coverage next week.
Crisis work is priced separately
Urgent reputational work needs its own arrangement, as described in crisis PR enquiries that arrive out of hours.
Retainers across agency work
The same explanation problem affects marketing retainers, as covered in marketing retainer enquiries that stall at pricing, and unexpected extras damage trust, as in hidden costs of AI chatbot pricing.
Getting started
Publish retainer levels, what each includes, your minimum engagement and what is quoted separately, then answer at any hour. SpideyChat for marketing agencies answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page and the chatbot ROI calculator helps size the enquiry time saved.