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 860 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2003. Want PR’s Full Value?
Make sure somebody is worrying about those outside audience behaviors you need to help reach your objectives.
And I mean
kind of behaviors you like: prospective buyers browsing your services or products; specifying sources or major donors thinking about you; more frequent repeat purchases; new proposals for joint ventures or strategic alliances; elected officials who increasingly view you as a mover and shaker in business, non-profit or association communities.
All doable when you base your public relations program on a reality such as this: 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.
Your payoff is kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your objectives.
Here’s one way to make it happen.
Consider those outside audiences whose actions you know have a serious impact on your organization. Then put them in order of how badly those impacts affect you. We can work right now on first audience on that list.
The obvious question is, how do members of that target audience perceive your organization? To find out, you and your colleagues are going to have to meet with audience members and ask such questions as, “Do you have an opinion about our organization? How much do you know about us? Have you ever had dealings with us? Were they satisfactory?”
While you monitor those perceptions, be sure to stay alert to negative comments, and even to suspicious tones of voice in responses. Watch carefully for untruths, false assumptions, inaccuracies, misconceptions or hurtful rumors which, left unattended, could do you some damage.
With that response data in hand, you can decide exactly which problem is most severe, then establish it as your public relations goal. For instance, correct a false assumption, clarify a misconception, or spike a rumor that’s just dead wrong.
Every goal needs a strategy showing what needs to be done, if that goal is to be achieved. When it comes to matters of perception and opinion, there are just three strategy choices available to you: change existing perception, reinforce it, or create perception/opinion where none may exist. Be careful that strategy you select is a good fit with your public relations goal.
