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The question now becomes, what will you say to members of your key target audience who harbor 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 behaviors you have in mind.
Happily, next step is easy. You select communications tactics to carry your message to attention of your target audience. Making certain that tactics you select have a record of reaching folks like 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 method of communication often affects credibility of 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 same questions as in your first benchmark session, you will now be on alert for signs that 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 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 success of your department, division or subsidiary.
As comedian Jackie Gleason used to say, “How sweet it is!”
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Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about using 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 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
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