Public Relations Mixup?

When you pay good money for public relations services, you have a right to expect its primary focus to be on your most important outside audiences, those people whose behaviors have greatest impact on your operation.

Often, however, that primary focus is limited to a communi- cations tactics debate about relative merits of brochures versus press releases versus newsletters instead of planning how to achieve those key audience behaviors that directly support your business objectives and make difference between success and failure.

Nothing wrong with communications tactics. They fit in just fine later in effort, as you will see. Only point here? Use them for what they are, tactics, not a substitute for your primary public relations effort.

To insure that you’re not wasting that PR budget, you really need to stay in touch with your most important external audiences. Then carefully monitor their perceptions about your organization, their feelings and beliefs about hot topics at issue, both of which lead to predictable, follow-on behaviors.

First, you need to list those external audiences that have most serious impacts on your organization. Rank them as to those impacts and let’s work on one at top of list.

Now, you and your colleagues must interact with members of that outside audience and pose a lot of questions in order to gather information you need.

Listen carefully to what they say about your organization, its products or services, and its management. Ask questions like “What do you think of us? and Are you pleased with what you know about us? Have you heard anything that you want explained?” It’s important to watch for negativity in attitudes and responses while staying alert to misconceptions, inaccuracies, dangerous rumors and unfounded beliefs and opinions.

The good news is body of knowledge you will gather. Here are facts you need to establish your public relations goal. That is, actual perception change followed by behavior change you want. Specifically, you may decide to spend your resources on clearing up a serious misconception, turning around that unfounded belief or killing that dangerous rumor once and for all.

Don’t Put Up With “Junk PR”

In public relations, “junk” is more about attitude and lack of understanding than a measure of quality.

Hopefully, if your public relations mission is yet to be accomplished, you agree that its primary thrust MUST be to take advantage of fact that people act on their own perception of facts before them leading to predictable behaviors. Then create, change or reinforce that perception/opinion by reaching, persuading and moving to actions YOU desire, those people whose behaviors most affect your organization.

If you buy that idea, you might also agree that a preoccupation with things like brochures versus press releases versus newsletters could be seen as a “junky” approach to public relations. Particularly when you compare it to a comprehensive plan that targets kind of stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your objectives.

And those objectives may include customers who make repeat purchases, prospects converted to customers, beneficial joint ventures and strategic alliances, unions more frequently bargaining in good faith or your suppliers doing everything they can to expand relationship.

How do you find such a plan? Please keep reading.

First, have you ever sat down and listed every outside audience whose behaviors impact your business in any significant way? Well, list them now, then rank them according to how serious each impact is, and let’s work on external audience at top of your list.

How frequently do you interact with members of that target audience? Probably not frequently enough to be really aware of how they feel about your organization. You must interact regularly and ask a lot of questions like “What do you think of our business? Have you had experience with our services or our products?” All while remaining alert to any negativities, especially damaging rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and like.