Why Do You Want PR?

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Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

Why Do You Want PR?

To get someone’s name in the newspaper or a product
mention on a radio talk show?

If that’s all you expect, fine. But that response tells me that,
as a business, non-profit or association manager, you may
have overlooked an important reality: people act on their
own perception of the facts, leading to predictable behaviors
about which something can be done on your behalf.

And you may be compounding that error by failing to insist
that your department, division or subsidiary PR people make
this very special effort: create, change or reinforce the
perceptions of those external audiences whose behaviors
really DO impact your unit.

If true, it means you don’t have a proactive public relations
plan that targets the kind of stakeholder behavior change that
leads directly to achieving your operating objectives.

Still, I’ll bet you’d like to do everything you can to help your
unit’s PR team persuade your important outside stakeholders
to your way of thinking. Especially so when such a program
works to move those stakeholders to behaviors that lead to the
success of YOUR department and YOUR programs.

Well, there’s still time to fix things.

Sit down with the public relations people assigned to your unit
and make certain the whole team buys into why it’s so important
to know how your outside audiences perceive your operations,
products or services. Be sure they accept the reality that
perceptions usually morph into behaviors that can hurt your unit.

Explore with them how you will monitor and gather perceptions
by questioning members of your most important outside audience:
how much do you know about our organization? Have you had
prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange?
How much do you know about our services or products and
people? Have you experienced problems with our people or
procedures?

Of course, you can always engage survey pros to round up these
data for you, but that can be expensive. Besides, remember that
your very own PR team is already in the perception and behavior
game and could be of use for this opinion monitoring project.

Regardless of who interacts with members of your target audience,
questioners must stay alert to false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and untruths.

Here you must be cautious because the perception information
you gather helps you set a specific public relations goal. For
example, clarify the misconception, spike that rumor, or correct
the false assumption.

You pursue that goal by picking the right strategy from the three
choices available to you. Change existing perception, create
perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Be certain,
however, that the strategy you choose is an obvious fit with your
new public relations goal.

The question now becomes, what will you say to members of your
key target audience who harbor the offending perception, to help
persuade them to your way of thinking?

Select your PR team’s best writer because s/he must prepare a very
special, corrective message. One that is not only compelling,
persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the
behaviors you have in mind.

Happily, the next step is easy. You select communications
tactics to carry your message to the attention of your target
audience. Making certain that the tactics you select have a record
of reaching folks like the members of your target audience, you
can pick from dozens that are available. From speeches, facility
tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media
interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others.

Remember that the method of communication often affects the
credibility of the message. So you may wish to deliver it in small
getogethers like meetings and presentations rather than through a
higher-profile media announcement.

Others will soon clamor for signs of progress, and you’ll want to demonstrate such results. And that means a second perception
monitoring session with members of your target audience. Using
many of the same questions as in your first benchmark session,
you will now be on alert for signs that the offending perception
is being altered in your direction.

Fortunately, you can always speed things up by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

You’ll know exactly why you wanted to apply proactive public
relations when you sharpen your focus on the very groups of
outside people who play a major role in just how successful a
manager you will be – your key external stakeholders.

Especially when you follow through with a workable plan that
helps you persuade those important outside stakeholders to your
way of thinking, then moves them to take actions that lead to
the success of your department, division or subsidiary.

As comedian Jackie Gleason used to say, “How sweet it is!”

end

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about using the fundamental premise of public relations 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 communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press
secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com