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We all know you won’t get there at all without
right strategy to tell you how to proceed. But remember 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 sour cream on your spaghetti, so be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You wouldn’t want to select “change” when 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 behaviors you have in mind.
Once you’ve run draft copy by your PR team, it’s on to next selection process -- communications tactics most likely to carry your message to 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 tactics you pick are known to reach folks like your audience members,
Actually, 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 credibility of any message is fragile and always at stake.
It won’t be long before voices will be raised about progress reports, which will be your signal for 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 same questions used in first benchmark session. Big difference this time is that you will be on red alert for signs that bad news perception is being altered in your direction.
It seems lucky for us that such matters usually can be accelerated simply by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.
Yes, you as a business, non-profit or association manager become empowered when you 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. Pure and simple.
Put another way, when your key external stakeholders start behaving suspiciously like everyone else – acting upon their perceptions of facts they hear about you and your operation -- you really have little choice but to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move those important outside audiences to actions you desire.
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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 communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com
