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If you can afford
considerable expense of a professional survey firm, by all means use it in perception monitoring phases of your program. But keep in mind that your PR people are also in perception and behavior business and can pursue same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.
Now you establish a PR goal that stands a good chance of doing something about most serious distortions you discovered during your key audience perception monitoring. It could be to straighten out that dangerous misconception, or correct that gross inaccuracy, or stop that potentially fatal rumor dead in its tracks.
And, of course, you must have right strategy, one that clearly shows you how to proceed. Please note that there are only three strategic options available to you when it comes to handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Since wrong strategy pick will taste like capers on your strawberry shortcake, be certain new strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations goal. You don’t want to select “change” when facts dictate a “reinforce” strategy.
Here, PR staff must prepare a powerful message and aim it at members of your target audience. As is usually case, crafting action-forcing language to persuade an audience to your way of thinking is hard work. Which is why your crew must create some very special, corrective language. Words that are not only compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual. Only in this way will you be able to correct a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to behaviors you are targeting.
I’d run it by my PR colleagues for impact and persuasiveness. Then, fine-tune it before selecting communications tactics most likely to carry your message to attention 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. But be sure that tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.
As you know, credibility of a message is often dependent on means used to deliver it. So you may wish to unveil it before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. It won’t be long before calls for progress reports are heard. This tells you and your PR team to start work on a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You’ll want to use many of same questions used in first benchmark session. Difference this time is that you will be watching very carefully for signs that bad news perception is being altered in your direction.
Should program’s momentum flag, you can simply accelerate matters by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.
Yes, what you really want new PR plan to do, is to persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that leads to success of your department, division or subsidiary.
Indeed, this could be strongest public relations on planet.
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Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to managers 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. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com
