PR: Behavior Modification Specialist

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PR: Behavior Modification Specialist

by Robert A. Kelly

While awaiting economic recovery, business needs to attract
the attention of its most important external audiences in a
more targeted and focused way. Primarily to impact the
perceptions of those key outsiders so that resulting behaviors
help those managers achieve their objectives.

This should be enough reason for recession-weary managers
to take a closer look at public relations, America’s resident
specialists in behavior modification.

The reason public relations finds itself in the behavior
business -- and of real use to those recession-jaded
managers -- is because it’s firmly rooted in the principle
that people act on their own perception of the facts. It
strives to create, change or reinforce perception/public
opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-
action those people whose behaviors affect the organization.

It’s good news for business managers because, when the
behavioral changes become apparent, and meet the
program’s original behavior modification goal, a public
relations effort has succeeded.

Truth is, at any time, when managers start looking for a
return on their public relations investment, it’s clear as
crystal that their goal MUST be the kind of change in the
behaviors of key stakeholders that leads right to achieving
their objectives.

Just think about some of the perceptions out there, in good
times or bad, that could actually hurt your organization.
Perceptions that, if ignored long enough, could well result in
behaviors that run counter to those you want.

At the root of it all, is that simple truism we all know but
tend to forget: people really DO act on their perception of
the facts and behave accordingly. But, if a manager is to have
an effect on those perceptions and behaviors, he/she must
deal with them promptly and effectively whether the economy
is down or up.

Imagine how many different audiences your organization may have to
depend upon at one time or another? Would your list include
insurance carriers, journalists, minorities, customers,
prospects, employees, legislators, community residents and
others whose perceptions of your organization, if left
unattended, could hurt?

Start getting your arms around this challenge by listing
your important audiences in priority order. For example,
customers, prospects, employees, local and trade media,
local business and community leaders, and so forth.

As time permits, meet with members of each audience
and jot down their impressions of your business, especially
problem areas. Be sure to ask questions about their feelings
and perceptions of your products and services. Stay alert
to inaccuracies, misconceptions or rumors. Here, you’ll
have a chance to decide to what degree you will try to alter
perceptions among each audience. Later, this will become
the behavior modification goal against which you will
measure progress for each target audience.

Next, prepare persuasive messages that not only provide
details about your product and service quality, but address
problems that surfaced during your conversations with key
audience members. Identify what is really at issue at
the moment; impart a sense of credibility to your comments;
and regularly assess how opinion is currently running among
that group, constantly adjusting your message.

Then, consider the most effective means for communicating
each message to each audience. This may include simple
face-to-face meetings, briefings, news releases, news
announcement luncheons, media interviews, facility tours,
targeted speeches, a brochure, special events like open houses
and awards, and a variety of other communications tactics.

As you look for signs that your aggressive efforts are
changing perceptions for the better, especially important in a
recession, you should begin to notice increased awareness
of your organization, especially progress in the marketplace;
increased receptiveness to your messages; a growing public
perception of the role your organization plays in its industry
and in the community; and, of course, growing numbers of
prospects.

These signs of progress are tracked by speaking once again,
and on a regular basis with people among each of your key
audiences, by monitoring print and broadcast media for
mentions of your messages or viewpoints, by interaction
with key customers and prospects and, if resources permit,
modest opinion sampling.

Especially during hard times, remember that people in your
community or marketing area behave like everyone else –
they take actions based on their perception of the facts they
hear about you and your business.

Which means that you must deal promptly and effectively
with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach
them. Especially during recession, you must persuade your
stakeholders to your way of thinking, thus moving them to
take actions that lead to the success of your organization.

end