Managers: Are You PR-Fit?

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Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

Managers: Are You PR-Fit?

Can you honestly say that your business, non-profit or
association’s key outside audiences behave in ways that
help lead to your success on-the-job?

Or, have you pretty much ignored the reality that target
audience behaviors can help or hinder you in achieving
your department, division or subsidiary’s operating
objectives?

Truth is, your unit’s public relations effort can never be
truly fit until the primary focus of the PR people assigned
to you is shifted from tactical concerns to a more
comprehensive public relations action blueprint 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.

What such a foundation gives you is the ability to help
persuade those important external stakeholders to your
way of thinking. Which can cause them to take actions
that lead to your success as a manager.

Any idea how to make that happen?

First, tell your public relations team that you’re serious
about nailing down what those outside audiences with the
behaviors that affect your unit the most, really think about
your organization. After you list the external stakeholders,
prioritize them so we’re certain we’re working on one of
your key target audiences.

Next, you and your PR team must interact with members
of that audience by asking a number of questions aimed
at finding out how you’re perceived. Look for inaccurate
beliefs, troublesome misconceptions, potentially dangerous
rumors, and any other negativities that might translate
into target audience behaviors that could hurt you.

Of course, you could hire a professional survey firm to
interact with members of your target audience and gather
the perception data you need. But that can get expensive
indicating, at least to me, that the alternative use of your
own PR staff to handle this chore, is the better choice.

Question now, how to achieve that public relations goal?
Obviously, you need the right strategy to show you how
to do it. Luckily, where opinion/perception is concerned,
there are really only three strategy choices: create
perception/opinion where none exists, change existing
perception, or reinforce it. And be certain the strategic
choice you made clearly fits your new public relations goal.

Now, remember that the message you use to communicate
your corrective message to members of your target audience
is not only crucially important to the program’s success,
but a real writing challenge for you and your public relations
team. The message must be clearly written as to why the
offending perception really needs to be clarified. Supporting
facts must be above challenge and believable if your message
is to be persuasive. And, it should be compelling.

Delivering your message, perhaps surprisingly, is not a
complex assignment because you have a long list of
communications tactics to help you do the job. They range
from media interviews, emails, personal contacts and
newsletters to facility tours, press releases, brochures,
consumer meetings and many others. The only caution here is
to check and double-check that those you choose are known
to reach people like those who make up your target audience.

Sooner rather than later, you will need to determine how
much progress you’re making in altering the damaging
perception and its equally damaging follow-on behavior.
This is also not a complex challenge.

Here, you and your public relations people must once again
interact with members of your target audience and ask
questions similar to those used in the earlier benchmark
monitoring drill.

The big difference this time around? You’ll be alert to
change. In other words, you want to see clear indications
that the damaging perception is actually undergoing
alteration in your direction.

You can always add more communications tactics,
increase their frequencies and sharpen your message to
move things along at a faster clip.

The result for you as a business, non-profit or association
manager, will be a workable department, division or
subsidiary public relations blueprint that succeeds in
creating key outside audience behaviors that help lead you
to success on-the-job.

end