iiArticle

For business, non-profit and association managers, is itpublicity that delivers newspaper and talk show mentionsbacked up by colorful brochures and videos, combinedwith special events that attract a lot of people?

Or could your business, non-profit or association PR dollarbe better spent on public relations activity that createsbehavior change among your key outside audiences thatleads directly to achieving your managerial objectives? Anddoes so by persuading your most important outsideaudiences to your way of thinking, then moves them to takeactions that help your department, division or subsidiarysucceed?

What we’re talking about is the kind of PR that lets youdo something positive about the behaviors of those externalstakeholders of yours that MOST affect your organization.Which means the right PR really CAN alter individualperception and lead to changed behaviors that help youwin.

Here’s a recipe for you: people act on their own perceptionof the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviorsabout which something can be done. When we create, changeor reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect theorganization the most, the public relations mission isaccomplished.

And it can generate results like increased membershipapplications; prospects starting to work with you; customersmaking repeat purchases; capital givers or specifying sourceslooking your way; stronger relationships with the educational,labor, financial and healthcare communities; and evenimproved relations with government agencies and legislativebodies,

Once the program gets rolling, you also should see resultssuch as new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;rebounds in showroom visits; community service andsponsorship opportunities; enhanced activist group relations,and expanded feedback channels, not to mention newthoughtleader and special event contacts.

To garner such results your PR crew – agency or staff – mustbe committed to you, as the senior project manager, to the PRblueprint and its implementation, starting with target audienceperception monitoring.

As you know, its extremely important that your key outsideaudiences see your operations, products or services in the mostpositive light. So make certain that your PR staff has boughtinto the whole effort. For example, do they accept the realitythat perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can helpor hurt your unit?

Review the PR blueprint with your PR team, especially theplan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioningmembers of your most important outside audiences. Questionslike these: how much do you know about our organization?How much do you know about our services or products andemployees? Have you had prior contact with us and were youpleased with the interchange? Have you experienced problemswith our people or procedures?

IF the budget is available, survey firms obviously can handle theperception monitoring phases of your program. But rememberthat your PR people are also in the perception and behaviorbusiness and can pursue the same objective: identify untruths,false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies,misconceptions and any other negative perception that mighttranslate into hurtful behaviors.

But what about your public relations goal? You need a goalstatement that speaks to the aberrations that showed upduring your key audience perception monitoring. And itcould call for straightening out that dangerous misconception,or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or doing something aboutthat damaging rumor.

PR 101 says when you set a goal, you need a strategy thatshows you how to get there. Here, you have three strategicchoices when it comes to handling a perception or opinionchallenge: create perception where there may be none, changethe perception, or reinforce it. A bad strategy pick will tastelike lime zest on your veal chops, so be certain the newstrategy fits well with your new public relations goal. Forexample, you don’t want to select “change” when thefacts dictate a “reinforce” strategy.

Your PR team has their work cut out for them because nowthey must come up with just the right, corrective languagethat will persuade an audience to your way of thinking. Wordsthat are compelling, persuasive and believable AND clear andfactual.

You have little choice if you are to correct a perceptionby shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading tothe desired behaviors.

Message impact is also key in such a message, so sit downagain with your communications specialists and review yourmessage for that quality as well.. Then, select the communicationstactics most likely to carry your words to the attention of yourtarget audience. You can pick from dozens that are available.From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumerbriefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings andmany others. But be sure that the tactics you pick are known toreach folks just like your audience members.

The credibility of a message can depend on its delivery method.So, think about introducing it to smaller gatherings rather thanusing higher-profile tactics such as news releases or talk showappearances.

Calls for progress reports will send you and your PR folks backto the field for a second perception monitoring session withmembers of your external audience. Using many of the samequestions used in the first benchmark session, you’ll now bewatching very carefully for signs that the bad news perceptionis being altered in your direction.

If colleagues (or bosses) seem impatient for results, you can always accelerate things with more communications tactics and increased frequencies.

Folks act on their perceptions of the facts they hear about youand your operation. Which means you have next to no choicebut to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions bydoing what is necessary to reach and move those key externalaudiences of yours to actions you desire.

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

Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=648&ca=Business

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.