A good primer on public relations is available from Len Saffir, a public relations executive, titled “PR on a Budget.” From introducing the concept of PR, all the way to staging interviews and handling crises, Saffir provides insight into the need for every organization to incorporate PR into their marketing mix.

"PR strategies can make or break your standing with customers, investors, employees and other groups important to your business," he writes. He points out that, "those who know how to handle it will profit. Those that ignore or mishandle (it) will get hurt."

The author also maintains that advertising is a far different animal than PR. "When properly used, PR makes a substantial contribution to strategic thinking and planning and cannot be measured by volume," he said. "Good PR makes everybody in the organization better at saying and doing things in a way that enhances the public image of the organization. An effective PR operation can make the difference between survival and debacle when misfortune strikes."

Saffir goes into the positives and negatives of big and small firms and mostly favors the latter.

His assertion of the importance of PR is undeniable. Reading this book can help business executives better understand the concepts, principles and strategies of successful PR firms. As he says, "I will always bet on the owner of a start-up business who is PR literate over the Harvard School of Business graduate who disregards PR."