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 1175 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2004. Maybe
Strongest PR on Planet Earth?
Strong for business, non-profit and association managers when they use fundamental premise of public relations to produce external stakeholder behavior change – kind that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives.
And strong when they do something positive about behaviors of those outside audiences that most affect their organization.
And finally, if this is you, really strong when you persuade those important outside folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary succeed.
On other hand, not so strong when you limit your PR activity pretty much to placing product and service plugs on radio and in newspapers. In short, your public relations effort really must involve more than press releases, brochures and special events if you are to get your PR money’s worth.
The fundamental premise of public relations says as much: 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.
The strength of that blueprint can appear in results like these: new thoughtleader and special event contacts; membership applications on rise; new community service and sponsorship opportunities; prospects starting to work with you; new feedback channels; customers making repeat purchases; stronger relationships with educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; promotional contest overtures; enhanced activist group relations; capital givers or specifying sources looking your way, and even a rebound in showroom visits.
But first, division of labor. Just who is going to do work? Your own full-time public relations staff? People assigned to your unit by a parent organization? An outside PR agency team? Regardless of where they come from, they must be committed to you as senior project manager, to PR blueprint and its implementation, starting with key audience perception monitoring.
An alert. Just because someone describes him/herself as a public relations person doesn’t mean they’ve bought whole loaf of bread. Be sure PR people assigned to your unit really believe why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Make sure they accept reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.
Trace out PR blueprint for them, especially your plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. 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?
