Managers: Your PR in the Strike Zone?

by Bob Kelly

Published on this site: January 31st, 2006 - See more articles from this month

It is if you're trying to do something meaningful about the behaviors of those important audiences that most affect the business, non-profit, government agency or association unit you manage.

It's in the strike zone when your public relations creates the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

And it stays in the strike zone when you 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.

Your managerial public relations is not in the strike zone when all that preoccupies you is how to move a message from one point to another using simple tactics like broadcast plugs, brochures and press releases. A simplistic approach to public relations that ignores the need to properly profile and qualify your target audience by probing how they feel about you and your services or products.

This could be problematic 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, consider this approach to your managerial public relations and do 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 one-two-punch that lets you measure the success of this methodology while you get the best public relations has to offer. In addition, this approach recognizes that many managers build their public relations program around communications tactics which, as noted, they simply use to move a message from here to there. But the reality is that tactics such as special events, press releases, broadcast plugs and brochures cannot, all by themselves, deliver results like those outlined above.

It's not every day that you can base your public relations planning on a high-potential underlying premise. But here you can: 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.

The fact of the matter is, the right PR planning actually can alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences. But, you'll only get there when your PR requires more than news releases, special events and broadcast plugs. Only then will you receive the quality public relations results you deserve.

Now, a sampling of possible results could include 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; 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; and membership applications starting to rise.

Because your PR people already labor in the perception and behavior vineyards, they're prepared to handle your new opinion monitoring project. Be doubly certain, 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. And insure that they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Your overall public relations plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences, must be reviewed with your PR people in detail. Suggest that they 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?

Be aware that it costs real money to employ a professional survey firm to do the opinion gathering work, and this must be compared to the cost of using those PR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity. Nevertheless, 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.

Without doubt, your top priority now is the establishment of a realistic PR goal calling for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. At this point, you probably will decide to stop that potentially painful rumor on the spot, or straighten out that dangerous misconception, or correct that gross inaccuracy.

Goal-setting begets strategy-setting and that's what you must undertake now. A strategy that tells you how to reach that goal. However, 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 chocolate covered asparagus. 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 order here is a persuasive message that will help move your key audience to your way of thinking. And your very best writer must come up with a carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external audience. The writer must use corrective language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

Still burning the midnight oil, you should make a decision as to those communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. Fortunately, you have a lot from which to choose. 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.

Alert: communicating your message, particularly how you communicate it, has a lot to do with the way your message is perceived, especially its credibility. So you may wish to unveil such corrective language before smaller meeting presentations, rather than using higher-profile news releases.

Sooner or later, you'll have to show how things are going and that's where periodic progress reports come in handy. They can also demonstrate how resources applied to public relations pay off. Progress reports also provide timely alerts to begin a second – and comparative - 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.

In the unlikely event that your PR program loses some of its forward motion, remember that you have the option of speeding things up by adding more communications tactics and/or increasing their frequencies.

Fortunately for all concerned managers, when you take proper control of the public relations being performed on your behalf, the PR program tends to move into the right strike zone and away from dependence on communications tactics. What it does is something meaningful about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that most affect your operation.

Naturally, as you follow through by persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking, you help move them to take actions that end up allowing your department, division, group or subsidiary to succeed.

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