|
Author: Robert A. Kelly Article source: http://www.kabish.com/. Used with author's permission.
Yes, that IS security when nobody can downsize you
because you OWN that small business of yours! But
preserving that special advantage is a never-ending job.
In fact, do you know what needs to be preserved more than
anything else?
Well, since they hold the future of your business in their
hands, I believe that an outside group of people whose
behaviors can effect your business' survival more than
any other, deserves your rapt attention.
What I'd like you to conclude from that is, what your key
target audiences think about you can take you down in a
New York minute!
* customers displeased with your product or service don't come back
* prospects who don't know about you don't buy
* employees who believe you don't care about them lean on their oars
* when minority folks believe you discriminate, you have new problems
* and if community residents believe your business is a lousy place to work, you have hiring and retention problems.
Even though help is on the way, you can't work on everything
at once, so prioritize those key audiences. That is, which external
audience is of immediate concern?
The good news is that problems like those above just don't
happen when you closely and regularly monitor what those
"key publics" think about you. First, you find ways to interact
with them.
Then probe what they think about you and the business. In
what behaviors are they engaging? What about misunderstandings?
Do you see any problems brewing?
When you take the trouble to stay in touch with those folks
whose behaviors affect your business the most, you've taken
an important first step towards preserving your business.
There's a real sequence here. Once you gather those facts
from monitoring your key, target audience, it becomes
obvious what your problem is and, thus, the public relations
goal. For example, correct that misconception about your
product; or reinforce a budding perception that you deliver
superior service; or correct a suspicion that you don't put
women in positions of responsibility.
With your goal in-hand, how are you going to achieve it?
You need a strategy which, in public relations, only comes
in three flavors: create opinion (perception) where none
may exist; change existing opinion, or reinforce it.
So, you've set your public relations goal AND a very doable
strategy. Now, what must your message say to implement
that strategy? It must address the "fix" you decided upon
when you set the goal. It must be clear, specific, persuasive
and, above all, believable. As you write it, remain sensitive
to what you are trying to do: change somebody's perception
which almost always leads to the change in behavior you
really want. Does your message meet this challenge?
Many would now find themselves with a great goal, a super
strategy and a first class message, and nowhere to go.
But not you. Here, you select the "beasts of burden" you
need to carry that message to the eyes and ears of those
members of your key, target audience whom you need to
reach and move to action.
And that means communications tactics. There are more
available to you than we have time or space to list. Among
them: community briefings, seminars, special events, news
releases, speeches, brochures and personal contacts.
Is your work completed? Nope, because how will you track
your progress? The answer is, Round 2 of the monitoring
job. Interact with members of your prime outside audience
all over again, carefully evaluating what you hear. If the
goal was "correct a misconception," are you beginning to
notice signs of that correction? Do those you talk to show,
however little, a better understanding of the facts of the
matter as represented in your message?
What's the bottom line? Behaviors, of course.
When your messages and communications tactics combine
to alter a questionable perception held by members of your
key, target audience, certain behaviors will soon follow.
Among them, favorable mentions in the media and in
individual speeches and lectures; increased patronage for
your business; "corrected" perceptions by influential
members of that important group of people, and many
other similar signs that your message and your
communications tactics have, indeed, "drawn blood."
Happily, what that adds up to is a successful public
relations effort.
Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your
ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would
be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Robert A. Kelly © 2005. 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 communications, 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.
Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com; bobkelly@TNI.net
GOD 1.0: The Universal OS
Is your platform running the best Operating System it could be? Consider GOD 1.0 (There Is Only One!), a univerally compatible, infinitely powerful and complete...
Why Do Gastric Bypass Patients Get Sleepy After Eating?
Weight loss surgery patients get sleepy after eating because of a rapid rise in blood sugar and a surge in insulin production due to the bypassed system. Learn ...
Learn How To Network for HIDDEN Jobs
People Who Can Network Get The HIDDEN Jobs: This career article will explain
to you the benefits of networking. I will also provide some tips and sources that...
Natural Breast Enlargement - Helpful Tips for Getting Dramatic Results
This article shows you how to get the most dramatic results from natural breast enlargement pills or systems. For women who want larger breasts but do not want...
Muscle-Building Exercises and Growth-Boosters
I have 'emerged' some subtle bodybuilding techniques that infuse rapid muscle-growth to any trainee. You see, the "factor of top intensity levels" in combina...
With This Herb, There Comes A Wed
The late Cuban singer and queen of salsa, Celia Cruz, said it clear in her classic salsa "El Yerbero Moderno" (the modern herbist). The rhythmical song names so...
Green Day: Punk Rock Masters Taming Mainstream Radio Their Way
Green Day is one of the hottest bands today. How did a "punk" band make it in mainstream radio and do it their way?
Five Common Misconceptions to Achieving Success with Your Online Business
How successful is your online business? Are you achieving the monetary rewards that you'd hoped to achieve when you set up your Web site? If not, you may have f...
Drinking Toxins? Good Health Begins with Filtered Water
Drinking toxic soup? Both rural and municipal water supplies are increasingly contaminated today affecting our health in more ways than we realize. Plenty of pu...
Choosing & Applying The Perfect Make-up Foundation
Foundation creates a blank canvas on the face to which colors is added: eye shadow, blush & lipstick. It is also the setting agent. It is also the setting agent...
Search Engine Optimization in an eCommerce World
Before one can fully understand the importance and necessity of implementing a search engine optimization program into their marketing mix, it is important to l...
The Executive Resume - Moving Beyond Accomplishments
There is a major difference between conventional resumes and executive resumes. Accomplishments are usually the center point of a conventional resume (i.e., in...
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar's health giving properties were
well known long before our time.Hippocrates
prescribed it as antiseptic. Greeks and Romans
drank it as be...
Understanding Marketing Tax Deductions
Marketing is a necessary expense in running practically any business and the IRS acknowledges as much. You may run advertisements on or in the Internet, radio, ...
Motivating Shoppers with Online Coupons (Part 1 of 2)
Online coupon codes can be an excellent tool that every web store should be using. Motivated shoppers are always looking for the best discount, and you can mak...
Can Your Clients Pay?
The first time you do business with a client there's always a big element of trust involved. They are trusting that you will deliver on your promises and you a...
How to Use Scrapbook Chalks
Simple instructions and tips for using decorator chalks in scrapbooking, cardmaking, and other papercrafting projects.
Is Real Estate with No Credit Checks Really Possible?
Once and for all, find out right here.
Big Company Intelligence on a Small Company Budget
Information is the lifeblood of the economy. That's especially true for businesses, because the ability to identify current customers and locate new prospects m...
The Contingencies of Despair: How Existentialists Survive
...a person is kidnapped, taken to the captor's home, tied up, and used for the man's pleasure. Every day for two weeks, she is made to submit, allowed to rise...
Teen Dating Violence - What You Need to Know
This article talks about the breadth and impact of dating violence among teenagers.
Emminent Domain May Hit Close to Home
IN A DAY AND AGE where one voice screaming among thousands can have Christian monuments removed from public buildings and development projects shut down for the...
6 Tips To Improve Your Business Website
There are six important characteristics that can play a major role on the impact your website has on prospects. Outlined below is the importance of each charact...
Herbs – Natures Potent Remedies
Use of herbs for health and as a medicine has a history dating back to man's evolution on the planet. From times immemorial, man has experimented and used bota...
|
Print this page