0 If legislators are unaware of your opinions or don’t believe you, unwanted regulations result.

0 And, when you grow big enough to become a public company, if security analysts believe you can’t manage your company, they won’t recommend your company to investors.

Obviously, small businesses have limited resources to apply despite potentially damaging and unattended perceptions held by those audiences most important to success of their businesses.

Still, there are certain cost-effective activities you can undertake to reach them. And considering survival nature of this topic, while some expense is involved, you may wish to research nearby public relations professionals willing to partner with you during early days of your enterprize.

Together, you may move in this direction:

First, rank your external audiences as to importance. For example, #1 customers; #2 prospects; #3 employees; #4 local and trade media; #5 your local business community; #6 community leaders, and so forth.

Second, as time permits, interact with members of each audience and jot down their impressions of your business, especially problem areas.

Third, prepare tailored messages that not only provide details about your product and service quality and diversity, but addresses problems that surfaced during your conversations.

Fourth, consider most effective means for communicating each message to each audience. This may include simple meetings, briefings, news releases, news announcement luncheons, media interviews, facility tours, special promotional events, a brochure, and a variety of other communications tactics.

How will you know that your efforts are changing perceptions for better? Over time, you should notice increased awareness of your business, especially how it’s doing in marketplace; increased receptiveness to your messages by customers; a growing public perception of role your business plays in its industry and in community; and, of course, growing numbers of prospects.

Such results are tracked by speaking 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, and by interaction with key customers and prospects.

Remember what is at stake – nothing less than survival of your business!

So, keep an eye on what’s most important, and remember that people in your community or marketing area behave like everyone else – they take actions based on their perception of facts they hear about you and your business.

And that means you must deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach them and to persuade them to your way of thinking, thus moving them to take actions that lead to success of your business.

end

Bob Kelly, public relations consultant, was director of public relations for Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-Public Relations, Texaco Inc.; VP-Public Relations, Olin Corp.; VP-Public Relations, 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

Now, it is a short step towards establishing whether perceptions and opinion among those key audiences must be created from scratch, nudged in one direction or another, or simply reinforced. An important decision because it will influence direction, content and tone of all of your communications.

The Persuasive Message

Then, it’s time to prepare messages tailored to each audience that, while providing details about your products and service quality and diversity, indirectly address those potential problem areas that came up during information gathering meetings. Of special concern in preparing messages will be your behavior modification goal and audience perception adjustments necessary to achieve it.

Reaching Your Audience

How will you communicate each message to its audience? How will you reach these people? Your choices include face-to-face meetings, briefings, news releases, news announcement luncheons, media interviews, facility tours, special promotional events, a brochure, and a variety of other communications tactics.

And don’t forget special events as a means for reaching those target audiences with your messages. They are usually newsworthy and include activities such as financial roadshows, awards ceremonies, trade shows, contests or open houses.

Media That Target Your Audience

It sounds elementary, but selecting right media to carry your messages demands that you be certain that each communications tool zeros in directly on target audience. Example: no sense in using ride-time (rush hour) radio appearances if you’re trying to reach retirees.

Signs of Improvement

So, how will you know whether your efforts are actually changing perceptions (and behaviors) for better? As time passes, experience shows that you will begin to notice increased awareness of your organization and its role in marketplace; a growing receptiveness to your messages by customers; a growing public perception of role your organization plays in its industry and in community, as well as increasing numbers of prospects.

Achieving The Goal

To track actual results, you or your colleagues must speak on a regular basis with people among each of your key audiences, as well as by monitoring print and broadcast media for mentions of your messages or viewpoints, as well as through interaction with key customers, prospects and influentials. Each of these indicators will reflect local, individual perception of your organization which, in turn, will gradually begin to approach degree of behavior modification you seek.

The effort is worth it. Done correctly, when public relations results in modified behaviors among groups of people important to your organization, you’re talking about nothing less than its survival.

end

Bob Kelly, public relations consultant, was director of public relations for Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-Public Relations, Texaco Inc.; VP-Public Relations, Olin Corp.; VP-Public Relations, 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