PR: Let’s Talk Fundamentals

How much more fundamental can you get than this? As a business, non-profit or association manager, if you don’t get your most important outside audiences on your side, you will fail.

To me, failure means key target audiences that don’t behave as you want them to. For example, capital donors or specifying sources who look other way, customers who fail to make repeat purchases, community leaders working closely with your competitors, prospects still doing business with others, organizations looking elsewhere to propose new strategic alliances and joint ventures, and even legislators and political leaders overlooking you as a key member of non-profit, association or business communities.

All that can change in a New York minute when you base a public relations effort on this simple premise: 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 primary benefit of that premise to you as a business, non-profit or association manager is kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your objectives.

And that’s very doable. Especially when you take time to list your most important external audiences, then prioritize them according to impacts they have on your organization.

The real key to success using this premise is actually gathering information as to how members of your key, external audience perceive your organization.

If you have resources available and can afford professional survey help, fine. If, however, like most of us you don’t, best alternative is for you or your colleagues to begin interacting with audience members. Ask many questions starting with, “Have you heard of us? What do you think of us, if at all? Have you ever done business with us? Why do you feel way you do?”