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 945 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2004. Managers, Have You Been Shortchanged?
You have been if you’re a business, non-profit or association manager whose public relations budget is focused largely on nifty brochures, column mentions and broadcast plugs. Especially without a workable plan that helps you persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then moves them to take actions that lead to
success of your department, division or subsidiary.
A plan, say, 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.
Managers like yourself can win big when you base your public relations planning on this kind of blueprint, one that demands of you a sharper focus on very groups of outside people who play a major role in just how successful a manager you will be – your key external audiences.
The payoff can take many forms: repeat purchases, a big bounce in showroom visits, increases in capital gifts, new waves of prospects, a large boost in membership applications, and even new inquiries about strategic alliances or joint ventures.
More important, as you move emphasis of public relations people assigned to your unit from communications tactics to blueprint outlined above, YOU move closer to personal success as that unit manager.
Take control of PR folks assigned to your unit and insure that every last one of them understands why it’s so crucial to know how your operation is perceived by your key target audiences. Be certain that they accept reality that those perceptions almost always end up as predictable behaviors that, left unattended, can raise cane with your operation.
Discuss how your PR team will undertake a perception monitoring session and question members of your key target audience: have you had prior contact with us? Was it satisfactory? How much do you know about our services or products and people? Have you encountered problems with our organization?
While you can always hire survey specialists to round up these data for you, remember that your very own PR team is already in perception and behavior game and should be of use for this project.
