Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 870 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2003. Are You PR-Challenged? Yes?
You won’t be if you accept a very simple premise. Here, in just two sentences, is your pathway to effective public relations. A pathway that lets you target
kind of stake- holder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your objectives.
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.
And what behavior changes they can be. Legislators who see you as a dynamic member of their business public; prospects deciding to patronize your enterprise; customers buying from you again and again; local thoughtleaders strengthening their relations with you; employees who value their employer, and on an on.
What it boils down to, is that people in your marketing area behave like everyone else – they take actions based on their perceptions of facts they hear about you and your organization.
So, you need to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what you need to do to reach them with right message. Your job is to persuade your stakeholders to your way of thinking and move them to take actions that lead to success of your organization.
Here’s one way to do exactly that.
Who are those important outside audiences whose behaviors have most positive OR negative impacts on your enterprise? List them in order of how negatively or positively those impacts affect you.
Working on target audience in first place on your list, let’s look at whether any of those perceptions out there are likely to morph into behaviors that can hurt your organization.
Assuming you don’t want to make a large investment in a professional opinion survey, you and your colleagues must interact with members of that target audience and ask many questions: “What have you heard about us and our products or services? Have you done business with us? Do you have a bone to pick with us? Keep an eye peeled for hesitant or evasive responses, and watch for any negative undertones. Notice a misconception, inaccuracy or rumor? Jump on it right away!
