By: Robert F. Abbott

You undoubtedly go through this, too. A few times a month you gather up bills coming due and write checks or pay them online.

As I was doing some bill payments recently, I noticed tactic one company uses to get its customers to pay by due date. It was very simple: "If you pay by this date, pay this amount. If you pay after this date, pay this amount."

Now, this was a small bill so penalty for paying beyond due date was just a matter of a few pennies, but still, I got point.

While other companies might list late charge in percentage terms, this one wisely adopted dollars and cents approach.

We see here a case in which a company crosses sometimes critical divide between abstract and concrete. Listing a percentage fee shows penalty in abstract terms. Listing it in dollars and cents shows penalty in concrete terms.

I don't know about you, but I'm certainly more sensitive to dollars and cents than to a percentage, if I'm late making my payment. How about you: would you feel more motivated to pay on time if it costs $1.17 or if it costs 2.5% per month?

As communicators, we should remain alert to differences between abstract and concrete. It's sometimes a subtle difference, but a critical one.

Here are a couple of applications of these differences:

The Truth About Public Relations

by Robert A. Kelly

The truth is, you CAN attract support of those external audiences whose behaviors have most effect on your enterprise. But you must do it by first achieving positive changes you need in their perceptions and, thus, behaviors.

You’ll get both using this strategic approach to public relations which means your chances of achieving your organizational objectives are enhanced.

It all starts with fundamental premise of public relations shown just below.

“People act on their own perception of 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 those people whose behaviors affect organization, public relations mission is accomplished.”

The core strength of those comments lies in behavior changes that can take place among your key, outside audiences. When those changes occur – and combined perceptions of members of that important external “public” begin to move in your direction – it can spell public relations success.

For instance, with a strong factual basis, you convince area activists gathering at your plant gate that (1) you don’t dump chemicals into river, and (2) both State and Federal investigations found that to be true. When they finally clear out, you’ve limited damage an expensive and long-lasting disruption could have caused. That saved organization cold, hard cash!

What happened? You managed to change perception of those activists which, predictably, led to change in their behavior that you desired. In other words, a successful use of public relations’ fundamental premise.

While public relations can bring real power to bear, and while there’s a well-worn path leading to each success, truth is, you can’t change perceptions, and thus behaviors of your important outside audiences if you are not in touch with them on a regular and meaningful basis.