One Way to Measure PR Success

by Bob Kelly

Published on this site: January 25th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

Look out the window! See any external audiences whose behaviors are important to you as a manager, but about whose perceptions of your organization you simply don't have a clue?

That's risky because the perceptions of key outside audiences invariably lead to behaviors that can help or hurt a business, a non-profit, a government agency or an association.

Instead, you might think about approaching those key outside folks this way. Try accepting the fact that what you are about to do is something meaningful about the behaviors of those important audiences that most affect the organization you manage; create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives; then follow through by persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking by helping move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

A mouthful, but a solid approach to getting the best public relations has to offer, and measuring the success of this methodology.

Fortunately, it also recognizes that while communications tactics are usually needed to move a message from here to there, it's not likely that tactics such as special events, press releases, broadcast plugs and brochures can, all by themselves, deliver results like those outlined above.

Again fortunately, in this approach you have the opportunity to base your public relations planning on a high-potential underlying premise: 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 usually accomplished.

What that really says is, good public relations planning really can alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences. However, you'll only get there when your PR demands more than news releases, special events and broadcast plugs. Only then will you receive the quality public relations results you deserve.

No doubt, you wonder just what kind of PR end-products you can expect? A sampling would include welcome bounces in show room visits; community leaders beginning to seek you out; politicians and legislators looking at you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; new prospects actually starting to do business with you; capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures showing up; customers starting to make repeat purchases; and membership applications starting to rise.

Obviously, your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business and primed to handle your new opinion monitoring project. Double check, however, that the PR staff really accepts why it's so important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Be really certain they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Invest some time in reviewing with your PR staff plans for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Consider asking questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

The danger in using professional survey firms to do the opinion gathering work, could be the expense. Which might exceed the cost of using those PR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity. But whether it's your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Now you should consider establishing a realistic PR goal calling for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. During this drill, you probably will decide to stop that potentially painful rumor fast. Or straighten out that dangerous misconception. Or correct that gross inaccuracy.

Coincident with setting your goal, will be an equally action-oriented strategy that illustrates how to reach that goal. For better or worse, you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion. And they are, change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Of course, the wrong strategy pick will taste like cranberry sauce on your bratwurst. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

The best writer on your team must come up with a persuasive message that will help move your key audience to your way of thinking. It has to be a carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external audience. Your writer must use really corrective language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

You're still not done. You must decide on those communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. There are many available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Caution: the means by which you communicate, that is how you communicate, will bear upon the credibility of your fragile and always suspect message. Which is why you may wish to unveil such corrective language before smaller meeting presentations, rather than using higher-profile news releases.

As a measure of PR success, periodic progress reports show how things are going.. Such reports also can demonstrate how resources applied to public relations pay off, while providing a timely alert to begin a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You'll want to use many of the same questions used in the benchmark session. But now, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

This, and most other programs can suffer slowdowns. But you'll have the option of speeding things up by adding more communications tactics and/or increasing their frequencies.

As it turns out, when managers take control of the public relations being performed on their behalf, the more perceptive tend to move away from dependence on communications tactics and on to a plan for doing something about the behaviors of those important external audiences of theirs that most affect their operation.

That's when they follow through by taking steps to persuade those key outside folks to their way of thinking, then help move them to take actions that allow their department, division, group or subsidiary to succeed.

Clearly, an excellent way to measure PR success.

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published over 200 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, 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:[email protected] Visit:www.PRCommentary.com