"PR Still
a Mystery to Some"
By Robert A. Kelly
Unfortunately, there are managers who define
public relations by its applications. Which explains neither its
underlying strengths nor what PR is all about.
The casual observer is left with a confusion
of tactical, application-oriented definitions of the public relations
function: Is it publicity? Crisis management? Special events?
Reputation management? Promotion? Or a slew of other tactics in
which we engage from time to time?
Which is it? More important, just what lies at
the core of managerial public relations anyway?
I believe the core lies in doing something positive
about the behaviors of those important outside audiences of yours
that most affect your operation.
In other words, create external stakeholder behavior
change – the kind that leads directly to achieving your
managerial objectives.
And do so by persuading those key outside folks
to your way of thinking, then help move them to take actions that
allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.
Luckily, there’s also a blueprint at the
center of public relations to help you cement that PR core for
your own managerial benefit.
And it goes 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.
And for managers such as you, here’s the
type of results that could emerge. Healthy bounces in show room
visits; community leaders seeking you out; prospects starting
to do business with you; membership applications on the rise;
customers making repeat purchases; fresh proposals for strategic
alliances and joint ventures in the inbox; capital givers or specifying
sources looking your way, and even politicians and legislators
beginning to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit
or association communities.
You also need PR team members who understand
that blueprint and commit themselves to its implementation, starting
with key audience perception monitoring. Let’s face it,
your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business,
so they should be of real use for this initial opinion monitoring
project.
Caveat: you must be certain your public relations
people really believe – deep down -- why it’s SO important
to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your
operations, products or services. Make sure they accept the reality
that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help
or hurt your unit.
Talk it over with them, especially your plan
for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members
of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these:
how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior
contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Are
you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have
you experienced problems with our people or procedures?
While professional survey firms can always be
hired to do the opinion monitoring work, they also can cost big
bucks. So, whether it’s your people or a survey firm asking
the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths,
false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions
and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful
behaviors.
The PR goal, obviously, is to do something about
the most serious distortions you discover during your key audience
perception monitoring. Will it be to straighten out that dangerous
misconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, stop that potentially
bloody rumor dead in its tracks?
Truth is, you won’t get there at all without
the right strategy to tell you how to proceed. But keep in mind
that there are just three strategic options available when it
comes to doing something about perception and opinion. Change
existing perception, create perception where there may be none,
or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like pepper
flakes on your Cr?me Brulee, so be sure your new strategy fits
well with your new public relations goal. You wouldn’t want
to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce”
strategy.
Now it’s time to put together a well-written
message and direct it to members of your target audience. It’s
always a challenge to create an actionable message that will help
persuade any audience to your way of thinking.
You need your best scribes for this one because
s/he must build some very special, corrective language. Words
that are not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but
clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards
your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.
Once you’ve run draft copy by your PR team,
it’s on to the next selection process -- the communications
tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of
your target audience. There are scores that are available. From
speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings,
media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others.
But you must be certain that the tactics you pick are known to
reach folks like your audience members,
By the way, you may wish to avoid “shouting
too loud” and unveil your message before smaller meetings
and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases,
as the credibility of any message is fragile and always at stake.
The people around you will start agitating in
short order for progress reports, which signals to you and your
PR team to get going on a second perception monitoring session
with members of your external audience. You’ll want to use
many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session.
Big difference this time is that you will be on red alert for
signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.
Incidentally, I’ve always thought it fortunate
that such matters usually can be accelerated simply by adding
more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.
So, at the end of the day, what you want the
new PR plan to accomplish is to persuade your most important outside
stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to behave
in a way that leads to the success of your department, division
or subsidiary.
Public relations should no longer be a mystery
when the people you deal with do, in fact, behave suspiciously
like everyone else – they act upon their perceptions of
the facts they hear about you and your operation. Which means
you really have little choice but to deal promptly and effectively
with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and
move those key external audiences of yours to actions you desire.
|
