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 990 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2004. How PR Helps Fiercely Competitive Managers
Fiercely combative business, non-profit and association managers use every PR weapon they can lay their hands on. Which means they employ strategic, rapid-fire print and broadcast tactics every day of their business lives.
Still, many realize they need more than that to win
long-range battle. Fact is, they need a public relations budget that can deliver results far beyond publicity tactics.
The fierce and smart know they need real behavior change among their most important outside audiences that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives.
So they make sure they persuade those key outside folks with greatest impacts on their organizations to their way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help their department, division or subsidiary succeed.
The really fierce use a public relations blueprint something like this one: 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 very people whose behaviors affect organization most, public relations mission is accomplished.
If that’s you, over time your results probably look like these: fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects starting to do business with you; welcome bounces in show room visits; membership applications on rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; community leaders beginning to seek you out; capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of business, non-profit or association communities.
But fierce ones don’t go it alone. They make certain every member of PR team agrees that it’s crucially important to know how your outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Dig deep to ensure they REALLY accept reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can damage your operation.
Now it’s time to activate PR blueprint and monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audience. Ask questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with interchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?
Lucky for all of us, your PR folks are already in perception and behavior business, so they can be of real use for this opinion monitoring project. Professional survey firms can be brought in to handle opinion monitoring chore, but that can cost you a lot of money. So whether it’s your people or a survey firm who asks questions, your objective is to identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, and misconceptions .
