If public
relations tactics like special events, brochures, broadcast plugs and
press releases dominate your answer, you’re missing the best PR has to
offer.
Such a budget would tell us that you
believe tactics ARE public relations. And that would be too bad,
because it means you are not effectively planning to alter individual
perception among your key outside audiences which then would help you
achieve your managerial objectives.
It would also tell us that, even as a
business, non-profit or association manager, you’re not planning to do
anything positive about the behaviors of those important external
audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation. Nor are you
preparing to persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking
by helping to move them to take actions that allow your department,
division or subsidiary to succeed.
So, it takes more than good intentions
for you as a manager to alter individual, key-audience perception
leading to changed behaviors. It takes a carefully structured plan
dedicated to getting every member of the PR team working towards the
same external audience behaviors insuring that the organization’s
public relations effort stays sharply focused.
The absence of such a plan is always
unfortunate because the right public relations planning really CAN
alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors among key
outside audiences.
If this sounds vaguely familiar, try
to remember that your PR effort must require more than special events,
news releases and talk show tactics if you are to receive the quality
public relations results you deserve.
The payoff can materialize faster than
you may think in the form of welcome bounces in show room visits;
customers beginning to make repeat purchases; capital givers or
specifying sources beginning to look your way; membership applications
on the rise; the appearance of new proposals for strategic alliances
and joint ventures; politicians and legislators beginning to look at
you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association
communities; prospects actually starting to do business with you; and
community leaders begin to seek you out.
It’s always nice to simply hire a
survey firm to handle the opinion monitoring/data gathering phase of
your effort. But that can cost real money. Luckily, your public
relations professionals can often fill that bill because they are
already in the perception and behavior business. But satisfy yourself
that the PR staff really accepts why it’s SO important to know how your
most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or
services. And be doubly certain they believe that perceptions almost
always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.
Share your plans with them for
monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your
most important outside audiences. Ask questions like these: how much do
you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and
were you pleased with the interchange? Are you familiar with our
services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with
our people or procedures?
But whether it’s your people or a
survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same:
identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies,
misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate
into hurtful behaviors.
It’s goal-setting time during which
you will establish a goal calling for action on the most serious
problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception
monitoring. You’ll want to straighten out that dangerous misconception?
Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, stop that potentially painful rumor
cold?
Of course, setting your PR goal
requires an equally specific strategy that tells you how to get there.
Only three strategic options are available to you when it comes to
doing something about perception and opinion. Change existing
perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it.
The wrong strategy pick will taste like onion gravy on your rhubarb
pie. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public
relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select “change” when the
facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.
It’s always time for good writing, but
never as now. You must prepare a persuasive message that will help move
your key audience to your way of thinking. It must be a
carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external
audience. Select your very best writer because s/he must come up with
really corrective language that is not merely compelling, persuasive
and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift
perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors
you have in mind.
Here’s where you need the
communications tactics certain to carry your message to the attention
of your target audience. There are many available. >From speeches,
facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media
interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be
certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like
your audience members.
How you communicate, however, is
always a major concern. The credibility of any message is always
fragile. Which is why you’ll probably want to unveil your corrective
message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using
higher-profile news releases.
When the need for a progress report
appears, you’ll want to begin a second perception monitoring session
with members of your external audience. You’ll certainly use many of
the same questions used in the benchmark session. But now, you will be
watching closely for signs that the bad news perception is finally
moving positively in your direction.
Fortunately, if things slow down, you
can always speed things up by adding more communications tactics as
well as increasing their frequencies.
Allow the tacticians a free hand in
selecting whether this tactic or that tactic should be used as the
beast of burden needed to carry your message to your target audience.
You take a broader view of public
relations and stress the strategic approach because it requires you as
the manager to effectively plan to alter individual perception among
your key outside audiences, thus helping you achieve your managerial
objectives.
end
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