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Author: Robert A. Kelly Article source: http://www.marketing-seek.com/. Used with author's permission.
As a business, non-profit or association manager,
occasions will arise when you'll need to employ tactics
like a brochure, a special event or a press release. But
it will be your work that precedes those tactics that will
determine the success of your public relations effort.
Here's the underlying premise: 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 usually
accomplished.
In a nutshell, your PR plan will help achieve your
managerial objectives by altering perception leading to
changed behaviors among those important external
audiences that most affect your department, group,
division or subsidiary.
When you get right down to it, you probably should
expand your view of public relations with some
serious planning early-on to do something about the
behaviors of those vital outside audiences rather than
jumping right out-of-the-gate with a tactical broadside.
I mean, there's something unsettling about putting the
cart before the horse with initial press releases, talk show
appearances, zippy publications and fun-filled special
events before you get answers to questions like these:
Who are you trying to reach? What do you know about
them? How do they perceive your organization? If
troublesome, how might we alter their perceptions?
And perhaps MOST important, what behaviors do we
want those perceptions to lead to?
Here's what you really need to ponder. Because the
people with whom you interact every day behave like
everyone else - they act upon their perceptions of the
facts they hear about you and your operation. Which
means you should deal effectively with those perceptions
(and their follow-on behaviors) by doing what is
necessary to reach and move those key external
audiences to action.
With that kind of public relations homework under your
belt, you may finally receive targeted PR results such as
new approaches by capital givers and specifying sources;
community leaders beginning to seek you out; fresh
proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
prospects starting to do business with you; customers
making repeat purchases; rising membership applications;
welcome bounces in show room visits, not to mention
politicians and legislators viewing you as a key member
of the business, non-profit or association communities.
That also means there's much work to be done. But by
who? Who will do this specialized kind of work? Your
own public relations people? Folks assigned to your
operation? An outside PR agency team? But regardless
where they come from, they need to be committed to
you and your PR plan beginning with key audience
perception monitoring.
It helps when the PR people assigned to you are really
serious about knowing how your most important outside
audiences perceive your operations, products or services.
They really have to accept the truth that perceptions almost
always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.
Review with them how you will monitor and gather
perceptions by questioning members of your most important
outside audiences. For instance, how much do you know
about our chief executive? Have you had prior contact with
us and were you pleased with the interchange? How much
do you know about our services or products and employees?
Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?
Be sure to use professional survey firms in the perception
monitoring phases of your program, if there's enough money
in the PR budget. You're in luck, however, because your
PR people are also in the perception and behavior business
and can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false
assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions
and any other negative perception that might translate into
hurtful behaviors.
Obviously, the right PR goal will let you deal effectively
with the most serious problems you discovered during your
key audience perception monitoring. Your new goal could
call for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or
correcting that inaccuracy, or neutralizing that fateful rumor.
Be careful here because you must now identify the right
strategy, one that tells you how to move forward. Keep in
mind that there are just three strategic options available to
you when it comes to handling a perception and opinion
challenge. Change existing perception, create perception
where there may be none, or reinforce it. Since the wrong
strategy pick will taste like salsa on your Braunschweiger,
be certain the new strategy fits comfortably with your new
public relations goal. You don't want to select "change"
when the facts dictate a "reinforce" strategy.
Here you have little choice. A strong message is required
and it must be aimed at members of your target audience.
Yes, crafting action-forcing language to persuade an
audience to your way of thinking is tough work. Which
is why you need your first-string varsity writer because
s/he must create some very special, corrective language.
Words that are not only compelling, persuasive and
believable, but clear and factual if they are to correct
something and shift perception/opinion towards your
point of view leading to the behaviors you are targeting.
What will carry your message to the attention of your
target audience? Why the communications tactics most
likely to reach that group of people, of course. After you
run the draft message by your PR people for impact and
persuasiveness, you can choose from among dozens that
are available to you. From speeches, facility tours, emails
and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews,
newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be
sure that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks
just like your audience members.
Because we all know that a message's believability can
depend on the credibility of the means used to deliver it,
you may decide to unveil it before smaller meetings and
presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases.
Calls for progress reports are a signal that the time has
come for you and your PR team to begin a second
perception monitoring session with members of your
external audience. Many of the same questions used in the
first benchmark session can be used again. But this time,
you will be watching carefully for signs that the problem
perception is being altered in your direction.
Should forward progress slow, you can always speed up
matters by adding more communications tactics as well
as increasing their frequencies.
Managers who succeed in altering the perception of their
key external stakeholders, thus moving their behaviors
in the managers' direction, will soon determine the
success to which they have become entitled.
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 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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