Managers: Paying for PR-Lite?

As a business, non-profit or association manager, your public relations expenditure may give you names in the newspaper or product plugs on radio. But what about key stakeholder behavior change ? the kind that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives?

Since that's public relations' strongest suit, shouldn't you be getting that first, THEN incremental publicity exposure? Especially when persuading those important outside folks to your way of thinking can move many of them to take actions that help you achieve your department, division or subsidiary objectives?

Bounce this notion off the public relations team assigned to your unit: people act on their own perception of the 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 the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

If they buy into it, you'll have a simple blueprint that gets everyone working towards the same external audience behaviors insuring that your public relations effort stays on track.

Consider the possible payoffs: customers starting to make repeat purchases; community leaders beginning to seek you out; welcome bounces in show room visits; membership applications on the rise; prospects starting to do business with you; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; higher employee retention rates, capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities

But, like everything else, there's no free lunch in PR either, and the work looks like this. You need to find out who among your important outside audiences is behaving in ways that help or hinder the achievement of your objectives. And then, list them according to how severely their behaviors affect your organization.

Of course it's unlikely that you have the facts and figures you need to pull this off because you aren't real certain just how most members of that key outside audience perceive your organization.

There's also a good chance you don't have the budget to accommodate expensive professional survey work. So you and your PR colleagues (they should be quite familiar with perception and behavior matters) must monitor those perceptions yourself.

Meet with members of that outside audience and ask questions like "Are you familiar with our services or products?" "Have you ever had contact with anyone from our organization? Was it a satisfactory experience?" Stay alert to negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant replies. Watch carefully for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions, inaccuracies and potentially damaging rumors. Any of which will need to be corrected, because experience shows they usually lead to negative behaviors.

So, because the obvious objective here is to correct those same untruths, inaccuracies, misconceptions and false assumptions, you now select the specific perception to be altered, and that becomes your public relations goal.

But a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, is like champagne without the peaches. That's why you must select one of three strategies especially designed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change existing perception, or reinforce it. The challenge here (albeit small) is to insure that the goal and its strategy match each other. You wouldn't want to select "change existing perception" when current perception is just right suggesting a "reinforce" strategy.

Your writers step forward here to create a compelling message carefully designed to alter your key target audience's perception, as called for by your public relations goal.

Stay flexible as to message delivery because combining your corrective message with another presentation or newsworthy announcement of a new product, service or employee may lend more credibility by not overemphasizing the need for such a correction.

The new message must be very clear about what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. Your facts must be truthful and your position must be logically explained and believable if it is to hold the attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction. It's clear that your message must be compelling.

I call the communications tactics you will use to move your message to the attention of that key external audience "beasts of burden" because they must carry your persuasive new thoughts to the eyes and ears of those important outside people.

You're in luck here because the list of tactics is a long one. It includes letters-to-the-editor, brochures, press releases and speeches. Or, you might select radio and newspaper interviews, personal contacts, facility tours or customer briefings. There are dozens in waiting and the only selection requirement is that those tactics you choose have a record of reaching people just like the members of your key target audience.

Your associates will soon want to know if any progress is being made. Of course you'll already be hard at work remonitoring perceptions among your target audience members. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you'll now be on the lookout for indications that audience perceptions are beginning to move the way you want them to move.

Things can always be moved along at a faster clip by adding more communications tactics, AND by increasing their frequencies.

The only way to be certain you are buying full-bodied public relations results and not the "Lite" version, is to undertake an aggressive public relations plan that targets the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your department, division or subsidiary objectives.

About The Author

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com

---

All Youve Got To Lose Is Everything

Everything, that is, if you ignore those folks whose behaviors... Read More

The Art Of Persuasive Pitching

Media placement is an art. Practicing it often requires as... Read More

Managers Need Basic PR

True, because department, division or subsidiary managers for a business,... Read More

How to Get Publicity for a Service Business

Many of our clients are in service businesses, such as... Read More

For Marketing-Minded Financial Planners, Small Publications Can Have Great Publicity Impact

Just because a publication is small doesn't mean that getting... Read More

Managers: Paying for PR-Lite?

As a business, non-profit or association manager, your public relations... Read More

Dont Use PR

?lose the confidence of your key target audiences? discourage them... Read More

What Does the Public Relations Client REALLY Want, and Why?

It's not unusual for clients of service providers to insist... Read More

Dont Get Eaten Alive!

If you don't have a grip on public relations, how... Read More

PR Planning: Mapping Out Your Strategies, Tactics

With all due respect to all those stereotypical males out... Read More

Effective Public Relations: Why Did Bec And Lleyton Do It At 3:15AM?

If you are in Australia at the moment, it is... Read More

Making Press Releases Work - Creating News Where None Existed

Aren't you tired of hearing how extremely easy it is... Read More

Publicity: The Right Way for Marketing-Minded Financial Planners to Follow Up with a Reporter

Let's say you've called a reporter with some ideas for... Read More

P.R. Strategies for Professional Service Providers

Promotion for Professional Services Providers requires a different approach than... Read More

Media Training: How to Avoid Being Misquoted

I often begin my media training sessions by asking members... Read More

Media Contact Lists and How to Build a Fantastic One

I got the latest issue of Internet Works in the... Read More

How to Write a Press Release

Why You Should Write Press Releases: A press release is... Read More

Publicity - Tips on Dealing With the Media

You thought of it, you researched it, you wrote it.... Read More

Cultivating Positive Media Relationships

Some people think that publicity is all about paparazzi snapping... Read More

Dont Pay for Radio Interviews

It used to be that all you had to do... Read More

The Three-Mile Radius

In last year's animated film Shrek II, a giant gingerbread... Read More

Talk Radio Success

You do not have to hire a publicist or advertise... Read More

A Natural Phenomenon? Really?

Sure. What else do you call a human discipline whose... Read More

Why PR Can be Effective Medicine

When properly applied by business, non-profit and association managers, public... Read More

Pot Roast and Public Relations (or, How Your Web Site Can Be Your Best P.R. Tool)

Recently I had a craving for... Read More

Using the Media - Five Reasons Why

The media has the power to shape public opinion and... Read More

Dont Be Incredible

Public relations is all about credibility and trustworthiness. If you... Read More

How to Tap in to the Holiday Publicity Bonanza

If your product or service can be given as a... Read More

Managers: Can We Agree on This?

Your public relations effort really should involve more than press... Read More

So, How Do I Answer That?

How you answer questions depends on many factors. Example what... Read More

How Would You Ever Know?

Your important outside audiences behave in ways that stop you... Read More

Writing a Press Release: Inverted Pyramid Style

A term you'll hear in newsrooms, in editing meetings, in... Read More

Publicity and Marketing Magic For Financial Planners: The Four Mores

Publicity will take your financial planning practice, your business, and... Read More