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Managers: Can We Agree on This?
Your public relations effort really
should involve more than press releases, brochures and special events if
you are to get your PR money's worth.
In particular, you should be
pursuing those three pots of gold at the end of the PR
rainbow.
First, when you use the fundamental premise of public
relations to produce external stakeholder behavior change – the kind
that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.
Second,
when you do something positive about the behaviors of those outside
audiences that most affect your business, non-profit or
association.
And finally, when you persuade those important outside
folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help
your department, division or subsidiary succeed.
The fundamental
premise of public relations mentioned above is the action blueprint you need
to reach those objectives. People act on their own perception of the facts
before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something
can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching,
persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors
affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is
accomplished.
Look at the kinds of results this process can achieve
--
fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
community
leaders beginning to seek you out; membership
applications on the rise;
prospects starting to do business with you; customers starting to make
repeat purchases; welcome bounces in show room visits; capital givers or
specifying sources beginning to look your way, and even politicians and
legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit
or association communities.
If you wish to pursue such results, spend
some time listing
those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that
help or hurt you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by
how severely they impact your operation. Best place to start is with the
target audience in first place on your list.
The chances of you
having current information as to how
most members of that key outside
audience perceive your
organization, are not that good. If you had been
regularly
sampling those perceptions, however, these data would be
available to you.
You and your colleagues will have to monitor those
perceptions
yourselves if the dollars aren't there to pay for professional
survey people. Interact with members of that outside audience
by asking
questions like "Have you ever had contact with
anyone from our organization?
Was it a satisfactory experience?
Are you familiar with our services or
products?" Be alert for negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant
replies. Watch carefully for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions,
inaccuracies and potentially hurtful rumors. When you find such damaging
perceptions, they will need to be corrected, because experience shows they
usually lead to negative behaviors.
You must do something about such
negativity before it morphs
into injurious behavior, so you now select the
specific perception to be altered, and that becomes your public relations
goal.
Sorry to say, a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to
get there, is like Huevos Rancheros without the hot sauce. That's why you
must select one of three strategies especially designed to create perception
or opinion where there may be none, or change existing perception, or
reinforce it. The challenge here is to insure that the goal and its
strategy match each other. You wouldn't want to select "change existing
perception" when current perception is just right, suggesting a "reinforce"
strategy.
Here is where your writers earn their money. Someone on
your PR team must put those writing skills to work and prepare a
compelling message carefully designed to alter your key target audience's
perception, as called for by your public relations goal.
A word of
caution: combine your corrective message with
another newsworthy
announcement of a new product, service or employee, which may lend
credibility by not overemphasizing the correction.
Your corrective
message also must be multifaceted, including several values. Clarity for
example. It must be clear about what perception needs clarification or
correction, and why. Your facts must be truthful and your position must be
persuasive, logically explained and believable if it is to hold the
attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception
your way.
Here is a less rigorous part of your campaign, selecting the actual tactics you will use to carry your persuasive new thoughts to
the attention of that external audience.
There is no shortage of
communications tactics available to you
including letters-to-the-editor,
brochures, press releases and
speeches. Or, you might settle on tactics such
as radio and
newspaper interviews, personal contacts, newsletters, or group
briefings, always making sure those you select have a record
of reaching
the same audiences as those that make up your
target
stakeholders.
Inevitably, you will be asked about progress and will have
to
once again monitor perceptions among your target audience
members.
Using questions similar to those used during your
earlier monitoring
session, the difference here is that you will
now watch carefully for
indications that audience perceptions
are beginning to move in your
direction.
Luckily, one option remains ours to exercise -- we can always
expedite matters and put the pedal to the metal by employing
additional
communications tactics, AND by increasing their
frequencies.
When
you target behavior change that lets you achieve your
operating objectives,
you are doing what is necessary to move
those important outside audiences
towards actions that will
lead to the success of your department, division
or subsidiary.
end
Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to
business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental
premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has
been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR,
Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of
communi-cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press
secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from
Columbia University, major in public relations.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net
Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com
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