Get Outsiders on Your Side

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Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

Get Outsiders on Your Side

Especially good advice for business, non-profit and
association managers whose job success depends in large
part on the behaviors of their key external audiences.

I refer to behaviors like inquiries on the increase, new
waves of specialized employment applications, more
and more followup purchases, new levels of membership
queries, a substantial boost in capital donations, or more
frequent component specifications by engineering firms.

If you are such a manager, you almost assuredly need help
in achieving your unit’s operating objectives. Which is why
it’s nice to hear that the public relations team assigned to
your operation is responsible for providing a large portion
of that help.

Two things need to happen to make that a reality. One, it
requires more than your oversight. You must stay involved
with your public relations folks at every major decision point.

And two, the entire effort must be based on more than a casual
debate about which communications tactics should be used.

What is needed is your commitment to a fundamental premise
that is the foundation on which your entire public relations
effort will be based. A premise like this: 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 accomplished.

With that established, we can get to work on the blueprint
that will help persuade those important members of your
key target audiences to your way of thinking. What you
hope for then, is follow on stakeholder actions that result in
your success as a business, non-profit or association manager.

Before taking any action steps, you need to know how
members of your key target audiences perceive you. So,
first, you and your PR team need to list those important
outside audiences whose behaviors affect your unit the most.
Then prioritize them so we can use the audience in first place
on that list as our target audience for this article.

Instead of spending considerable money on professional
survey work, you and your team can interact with members
of your target audience and pose a number of questions
designed to draw out any perception problems. “Do you
know anything about us? Have you had any contacts with
our people? Were they satisfactory? Do you have any problems
with our services, products or people?”

As you interact with audience members, watch closely for
evasive or hesitant responses to your questions. And be equally
watchful for negative misconceptions, rumors, exaggerations,
inaccuracies or untruths.

These data are grist for your mill, i.e., the information you need
to establish a public relations goal that corrects the offending opinion/perception. Such a goal might look like these: spike
that rumor, clarify that misconception, or correct that inaccuracy.

Now, you need a pathway leading to your public relations goal,
and that means you must pick a strategy showing you how to
get there. Luckily, there are just three strategies in matters of
opinion and perception: create perception where there isn’t any,
change existing perception, or reinforce it. Just be certain that
the strategy you select is a logical fit with the public relations
goal you just established.

Now, what you say to members of your target audience must
clearly address the offending perception gently but firmly.
Your message must be believable, compelling and, at the same
time, explain why the current perception is not merely untrue,
but unfair. It is no easy job to alter what people believe,
which is why writing such a message demands persuasive
writing ability.

To maintain the credibility of the message, you may wish to
piggy-back it on another announcement or presentation rather
than using the higher-profile press release format.

Happily, when it comes to delivering your message to members
of your target audience, you have multiple choices for your
communications tactics. Everything from newsletters, bulletins
and alerts, special events and speeches to print and broadcast
interviews, press releases, consumer/member briefings and many
more. Just be sure the tactics your use can demonstrate that
they reach people similar to those who make up your target
audience.

Before long, you, your PR team, and others in your unit will
want to see some progress. Best (and most frugal) way to
determine that is to return to perception monitoring in the
field and ask members of your key target audience the same
questions used in the earlier session.

Only this time, you’ll be on alert for indications that the
offending perceptions are changing as you planned, along
with predictable follow on behaviors.

By the way, things can always move faster by adding other
communications tactics, and using them on a more frequent
basis.

Yes, for managers whose job success depends to a large
degree on the behaviors of their key external audiences, a
public relations problem-solving sequence like this one IS
especially good advice!

end