Managers, Your PR: Sizzle or Fizzle?

by Bob Kelly

Published on this site: February 6th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

It's understandable if your PR fizzles when it's limited to simple tactics like news releases, broadcast plugs, press events and brochures. But then starts to sizzle when you 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 especially sizzles when your public relations creates the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives. Then continues as 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.

A fact of PR life is this: when you need to move a message from here to there, communications tactics usually can do that job. But be careful here, because a preoccupation with tactics usually denies managers the best that public relations has to offer by diverting the manager from pursuit of the real sizzle outlined above.

And I mean sizzle based squarely on an underlying premise such as this: 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.

As it turns out, the premise delivers on its implied promise: good public relations planning really can alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences. But the fact is, 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 believe you deserve.

When we look closer at the kind of PR end-products that can come your way, we see quite an array: community leaders begin to seek you out; welcome bounces in show room visits; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects actually starting to do business with you; capital givers or specifying sources begin to look your way; politicians and legislators start seeing you as a key member of the business, non-profit, government or association communities; customers begin to make repeat purchases; even membership applications start to rise.

Your PR staff will be indispensable from now on. Work closely with them on your new opinion monitoring project since they're already in the perception and behavior business. But satisfy yourself that your PR people really accept why it's so important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Briefly, be certain they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Spend some serious time reviewing with them how and when you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest questions to be asked 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?

However, shgould you decide to use professional survey firms for the opinion gathering chore, be advised that it may be more expensive than using your PR people to carry out the monitoring chore. So whether it's your folks 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.

With key outside audience opinion gathered, the number one job now is to establish a clearcut and realistic PR goal that calls for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. You may decide to stop that potentially painful rumor cold. Or straighten out that dangerous misconception. Or correct that gross inaccuracy.

The path to your new goal, however, requires an action-oriented strategy that shows you how to get there. Here, you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Of course, the wrong strategy pick will taste like maple syrup on your meatballs. 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.

Now it's time for the best writer on your team to prepare 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 develop really 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.

Your next challenge as a manager will be to insure that the communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience are selected by your PR team. Happily, there are many available, from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. Just be certain that the tactics you select are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

One of the realities of human existence is that someone else's message is often suspect because of the way in which it is communicated. So you may wish to unveil your corrective language through smaller meeting presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases.

When you elect to distribute progress reports to illustrate results, know that this should alert you to begin a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You can 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.

The vicissitudes of life being what they are, any program can suffer periodic slowdowns. Should that be the case, here is a reliable remedy: boost momentum by adding more communications tactics and/or increasing their frequencies.

As it turns out, a public relations program fizzling along on simple PR tactics, can indeed begin to sizzle when you do something meaningful about the behaviors of those important audiences that most affect the business, non-profit, government agency or association you manage.

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