Look out the window! See any external audiences whose
behaviors are important to you as a manager, but about
whose perceptions of your organization you simply don’t
have a clue?
That’s risky because the perceptions of key outside
audiences invariably lead to behaviors that can help or
hurt a business, a non-profit, a government agency or an
association.
Instead, you might think about approaching those key
outside folks this way. Try accepting the fact that what
you are about to do is something meaningful about the
behaviors of those important audiences that MOST
affect the organization you manage; create the kind of
external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly
to achieving your managerial objectives; then follow
through by persuading those key outside folks to your
way of thinking by helping move them to take actions
that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary
to succeed.
A mouthful, but a solid approach to getting the best public
relations has to offer, AND measuring the success of
this methodology.
Fortunately, it also recognizes that while communications
tactics are usually needed to move a message from here
to there, it’s not likely that tactics such as special events,
press releases, broadcast plugs and brochures can, all by
themselves, deliver results like those outlined above.
Again fortunately, in this approach you have the opportunity
to base your public relations planning on a high-potential
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.
What that really says is, good public relations planning
really CAN alter individual perception and result in
changed behaviors among key outside audiences.
However, you’ll only get there when your PR demands
more than news releases, special events and broadcast
plugs. Only then will you receive the quality public
relations results you deserve.
No doubt, you wonder just what kind of PR end-products
you can expect? A sampling would include welcome
bounces in show room visits; community leaders beginning
to seek you out; politicians and legislators looking at you
as a key member of the business, non-profit or association
communities; new prospects actually starting to do
business with you; capital givers or specifying sources
beginning to look your way; new proposals for strategic
alliances and joint ventures showing up; customers starting
to make repeat purchases; and membership applications
starting to rise.
Obviously, your PR people are already in the perception
and behavior business and primed to handle your new
opinion monitoring project. Double check, however, 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. Be really
certain they believe that perceptions almost always result
in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.
Invest some time in reviewing with your PR staff plans
for monitoring and gathering perceptions by
questioning members of your most important outside
audiences. Consider asking questions like these: how
much do you know about our organization? Have you
had prior contact with us and were you pleased with
the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or
products and employees? Have you experienced
problems with our people or procedures?
The danger in using professional survey firms to do
the opinion gathering work, could be the expense.
Which might exceed the cost of using those PR folks
of yours in that monitoring capacity. 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.
Now you should consider establishing a realistic PR
goal calling for action on the most serious problem
areas you uncovered during your key audience
perception monitoring. During this drill, you probably
will decide to stop that potentially painful rumor fast.
Or straighten out that dangerous misconception. Or
correct that gross inaccuracy.
Coincident with setting your goal, will be an
equally action-oriented strategy that illustrates
how to reach that goal. For better or worse, you
have just three strategic options available to you
when it comes to doing something about perception
and opinion. And they are, change existing
perception, create perception where there may be
none, or reinforce it. Of course, the wrong strategy
pick will taste like cranberry sauce on your bratwurst.
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.
The best writer on your team must come up with
a persuasive message that will help move your key
audience to your way of thinking. It has to be a
carefully-written message targeted directly at your
key external audience. Your writer must use 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.
You’re still not done. You must decide on those
communications tactics most likely 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.
Caution: the means by which you communicate,
that is HOW you communicate, will bear upon the
credibility of your fragile and always suspect
message. Which is why you may wish to unveil such
corrective language before smaller meeting
presentations, rather than using higher-profile news
releases.
As a measure of PR success, periodic progress reports
show how things are going.. Such reports also can
demonstrate how resources applied to public relations
pay off, while providing a timely alert to begin a
second perception monitoring session with members
of your external audience. You’ll want to use many
of the same questions used in the benchmark session.
But now, you will be on strict alert for signs that the
bad news perception is being altered in your direction.
This, and most other programs can suffer slowdowns.
But you’ll have the option of speeding things up by
adding more communications tactics and/or
increasing their frequencies.
As it turns out, when managers take control of the
public relations being performed on their behalf, the
more perceptive tend to move away from dependence
on communications tactics and on to a plan for doing
something about the behaviors of those important
external audiences of theirs that MOST affect their
operation.
That’s when they follow through by taking steps to
persuade those key outside folks to their way of
thinking, then help move them to take actions that
allow their department, division, group or subsidiary
to succeed.
Clearly, an excellent way to measure PR success.
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.
Word count is 1305 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2006.
Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and
association managers about using the fundamental premise of public
relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published over
200 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click
Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. 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.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.PRCommentary.com
June 05th 2008 Posted to
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