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Submitted by: Robert A. Kelly
As a business, non-profit or association manager, whatdo you want?
Publicity that delivers newspaper and talk show mentions,or behavior change among your key outside audiencesthat leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives?
Special events that attract a lot of people, or public relationsthat persuades your most important outside audiences toyour way of thinking, then moves them to take actions thathelp your department, division or subsidiary succeed?
Zippy brochures and videos, or a way for you to dosomething positive about the behaviors of those externalaudiences of yours that MOST affect your organization?
As a manager, what I believe you need to know about PRare two realities:
1) The right PR really CAN alter individual perception andlead to changed behaviors that help you succeed, and 2),your public relations effort must involve more than specialevents, brochures and news releases if you really want toget your money s worth,
The underlying truth about PR goes this way: people acton their own perception of the facts before them, which leadsto 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 peoplewhose behaviors affect the organization the most, the publicrelations mission is accomplished.
And it can generate results like; prospects starting to workwith you; customers making repeat purchases; strongerrelationships with the educational, labor, financial andhealthcare communities; improved relations withgovernment agencies and legislative bodies, and evencapital givers or specifying sources looking your way
Once the program gets rolling, you also should see resultssuch as new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;rebounds in showroom visits; membership applications on the rise;community service and sponsorship opportunities; enhancedactivist group relations, and expanded feedback channels,not to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts.
That s a lot of results from even a high-impact blueprint.
It almost goes without saying that your PR crew agencyor staff must be committed to you, as the senior projectmanager, to the PR blueprint and its implementation,starting with target audience perception monitoring.
Is it crucially important that your most important outsideaudiences really perceive your operations, products orservices in a positive light? Of course, so assure yourselfthat your PR staff has bought into the whole effort. Beespecially careful that they accept the reality that perceptionsalmost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt yourunit.
Sit down with your PR team and review the PR blueprintin detail, especially the plan for monitoring and gatheringperceptions by questioning members of your mostimportant outside audiences. Questions like these: howmuch do you know about our organization? How muchdo you know about our services or products andemployees? Have you had prior contact with us andwere you pleased with the interchange? Have youexperienced problems with our people or procedures?
Professional survey people obviously can handle theperception monitoring phases of your program, IF thebudget is available. But always remember that your PRpeople are also in the perception and behaviorbusiness and can pursue the same objective: identifyuntruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors,inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negativeperception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.
What about your public relations goal? You need a goalstatement that speaks to the aberrations that showed upduring your key audience perception monitoring. Andit could call for straightening out that dangerousmisconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, ordoing something about that damaging rumor.
When you set a goal, you need a strategy that shows youhow to get there. You have three strategic choices whenit comes to handling a perception or opinion challenge:create perception where there may be none, change theperception, or reinforce it. A bad strategy pick will tastelike marinara sauce on your brownies, so be certain thenew strategy fits well with your new public relations goal.For example, you don t want to select change when thefacts dictate a reinforce strategy.
Because persuading an audience to your way of thinkingis awfully hard work, your PR team must come up withjust the right, corrective language. Words that arecompelling, persuasive and believable AND clear andfactual. You must do this if you are to correct a perceptionby shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading tothe desired behaviors.
Sit down again with your communications specialists andreview your message for impact and persuasiveness. Then,select the communications tactics most likely to carry yourwords to the attention of your target audience. You can pickfrom dozens that are available. From speeches, facility tours,emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews,newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be surethat the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just likeyour audience members.
You ve heard the old bromide about the credibility of amessage depending on its delivery method. On the chanceit s true, you might think about introducing it to smallergatherings rather than using higher-profile tactics suchas news releases or talk show appearances.
The need to produce a progress report will sound thealert for you and your PR folks to return to the field for asecond perception monitoring session with members ofyour external audience. Using many of the same questionsused in the first benchmark session, you ll now be watchingvery carefully for signs that the bad news perception isbeing altered in your direction.
If impatience enters the fray, you can always accelerate thingswith more communications tactics and increased frequencies.
Finally, like a military unit, your public relations effort canuse an action-oriented motto: the right PR really CAN alterindividual perception and lead directly to changed behaviorsthat help you succeed.
About the Author: 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:
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