The most sensible way for business, non-profit or association managers to use public relations is to strive to alter individual perception among their target publics, which leads to changed behaviors, thus helping achieve their managerial objectives.
In so doing, managers employ their public relations resources to do something positive about the behaviorsof those important external audiences of theirs that MOST affect their operations.
When you think about it, it's a VERY sensible approach toPR that leads managers to persuade their key outside folksto their way of thinking, then move them to take actionsthat allow that manager's department, group, division orsubsidiary to succeed.
What lets it all come to pass is the reality that people acton their own perception of the facts before them, whichleads to predictable behaviors about which somethingcan be done. When we create, change or reinforce thatopinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired- action the very people whose behaviors affect theorganization the most, the public relations mission isaccomplished.
If you are one of these managers, please remember thatyour PR effort must demand more than special events,brochures and press releases if you are to come up withthe public relations results you believe you paid for.
This approach to public relations can richly reward its users: fresh proposals for strategic alliances and jointventures; capital givers or specifying sources beginningto look your way; customers starting to make repeatpurchases; membership applications on the rise;community leaders beginning to seek you out; welcomebounces in show room visits; prospects starting to dobusiness with you; higher employee retention rates, andeven politicians and legislators starting to view you asa key member of the business, non-profit or associationcommunities.
You may count yourself fortunate that your PR peopleare already in the perception and behavior business.They should be of real use for this initial opinionmonitoring project. But you must be certain of whoamong your PR team really understands the blueprintoutlined above and shows commitment to itsimplementation, starting with key audience perceptionmonitoring. Then, be certain that your public relationspeople really accept why it's SO important to know howyour most important outside audiences perceive youroperations, products or services. And make sure theybelieve that perceptions almost always result inbehaviors that can help or hurt your operation.
Go over the whole process with your PR staff. Inparticular your method for monitoring and gatheringperceptions by questioning members of your mostimportant outside audiences. Questions along theselines: how much do you know about our organization?Have you had prior contact with us and were youpleased with the interchange? Are you familiar withour services or products and employees? Have youexperienced problems with our people or procedures?
When you compare the cost benefits of using thosePR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity to thecost of using professional survey firms to do theopinion gathering work, you may conclude it's a no- brainer. But, whether it's your people or a survey firmasking the questions, the objective remains the same:identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors,inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negativeperception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.
Now it's goal-setting time. One that calls for doing something about the most serious problem areas youuncovered during your key audience perceptionmonitoring. Will it be to straighten out that dangerousmisconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or,stop that potentially painful rumor cold?
At the same time you establish your public relationsgoal, you must establish a strategy that tells you howto get there. So keep in mind that there are just threestrategic options available when it comes to doingsomething about perception and opinion. Changeexisting perception, create perception where theremay be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pickwill taste like mint sauce on your corned beef, so besure your new strategy fits well with your new publicrelations goal. You wouldn't want to select "change"when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.
It's never easy when you realize that you must nowwrite an action-producing message that will helppersuade one of your key audiences to your way ofthinking. Well, you do, and it must be a well-writtenmessage targeted directly at your key externalaudience. Select your very best writer because s/hemust produce really corrective language. Wordsthat are not merely compelling, persuasive andbelievable, but clear and factual if they are to shiftperception/opinion towards your point of view andlead to the behaviors you have in mind.
Happily, it's time to identify the communicationstactics most likely to carry your message to theattention of your target audience. There are tonsavailable. From speeches, facility tours, emailsand brochures to consumer briefings, mediainterviews, newsletters, personal meetings andmany others. But you must be certain that thetactics you pick are known to reach folks just likeyour audience members.
Incidentally, you may wish to unveil this kind of message before smaller meetings and presentationsrather than using higher-profile news releases.Reason is, the credibility of any message is fragileand always at stake, so how you communicate it isa concern.
Talk about progress reports will alert you andyour PR team to begin a second perceptionmonitoring session with members of your externalaudience. You'll want to use many of the samequestions used in the first benchmark session.But now, you will be on red alert for signs thatthe bad news perception is being altered in yourdirection.
Should program momentum be sluggish, you can always accelerate the effort by adding morecommunications tactics as well as increasing theirfrequencies.
Finally, the sensible use of public relations bymanagers is most apparent once they accept thefact that they must do something positive aboutthe behaviors of those important outside audiencesthat most affect their operations.
Please feel free to publish this article and resource boxin 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 andassociation managers about using the fundamental premise of publicrelations 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 presssecretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degreefrom Columbia University, major in public relations.mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net
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