Mission-Critical Public Relations?

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 915 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

Mission-Critical Public Relations?

As a business, non-profit or association manager, any
tool that helps you reach your department, division or
subsidiary objective IS mission-critical.

And particularly so when that tool helps you persuade
your most important external stakeholders to your way
of thinking, and then moves them to take actions that
lead to your success.

Here is such a mission-critical tool. One that lets you
get serious about your public relations. It shifts the
emphasis away from communications tactics to a
workable plan for reaching those outside groups
of people with a large say about how successful you’re
going to be – namely, your key external target
audiences. The tool says, “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.”

Use this blueprint to create behaviors that lead to
activities like more follow up purchases, higher
contributions levels, increased qualified employment
applications, new joint venture proposals or a big
boost in capital contributions.

First, meet with the public relations people assigned to
your department, division or subsidiary and let them
know you’re serious about finding out what your most
important outside audiences actually think about your
organization. The rationale being that target audience
perceptions usually lead to behaviors that can help or
hinder you in achieving your operating objectives.

Decide among you which audiences are really key to
your success then build and prioritize your list of
important outside groups of people whose actions most
affect your unit. Now, let’s work on #1 on that list.

Your new mission-critical public relations effort will
rest heavily on how efficient you are in rounding up the
perceptions of your key target audience.

You can put your public relations team to work
interacting with members of that #1 outside audience.
Or, if you can tap a good sized budget, you can ask a
professional survey firm to do the job for you. However,
because your PR folks are already in the perception and
behavior business, my choice would be to use them for
this assignment.

One way or the other, someone must interact with
members of that prime audience and ask questions like
“What do you know about our operation? Are you
familiar with our services or products? Have you had
any negotiations with us? If so, were they satisfactory?”

But watch the responses carefully. Notice any evasive
or hesitant comments about your organization? Be
especially alert for misconceptions or untruths. Are
there false assumptions or inaccuracies you need to
remedy in light of experience that shows negative
perceptions inevitably lead to negative behaviors –
the kind you must correct to protect your unit’s
operations.

The result of all this work is that you are now prepared
to set your public relations goal. For instance, clarify a
hurtful inaccuracy, fix that misconception or flatten that
rumor once and for all.

But there’s more to reaching your goal. As with just
about any goal you pursue, you don’t reach it without
the right strategy to show you how to get there. Fact is,
with matters of perception and opinion, you have three
strategic options: change an offending opinion/perception,
create it where there isn’t any, or reinforce an existing
perception.

Now comes some work that requires real writing talent –
preparing the message you will use to carry your corrective
facts and figures to members of your key target audience.

The message must display several characteristics. It must
be clearly written as to why that misconception, inaccuracy
or false assumption should be corrected or clarified. Your
supporting facts must be truthful leading to a finished
message that is both believable and compelling.

Now, how about moving your message to your audience?
This is the least complex step in the sequence because
there are so many communications tactics ready to do the
message delivery job for you. They range from op-eds in
local newspapers, radio and TV interviews, speeches,
consumer briefings and brochures to newsletters, emails,
personal meetings and many, many others. Only caution:
be sure the tactics you assign to the job have a good record
of reaching people just like those members of your target
audience.

What about progress? Only way to know for certain if
offending perceptions have been altered, is to interact out
there once again with those audience members asking the
same questions as before. But this time, you and your PR
team will be watching carefully for indications that the
troublesome perception really is moving in your direction.

That’s where the rubber meets the road, isn’t it? Alter the
offending perception…that leads directly to the predictable
behavior…that helps business, non-profit or association
managers use mission-critical public relations…to reach their
department, division or subsidiary objectives.

end