More than 50 years ago, a now long-forgotten member of Bell Lab said that, to make the telephone a success, the company would have to make everyone a telephone operator. Today, everyone is a telephone operator. Even a three-year-old can reach out and touch someone.
Change came slowly. With the breakup of AT&T, change has been less dramatic than anticipated, but is still disruptive.
The rules of the game regarding who's promoting what have changed just as dramatically.
It has been more than 20 years since the Altaire Computer first appeared on the cover of Popular Mechanix. Hundreds of people wrote in for blueprints, kits and assistance in making their first microcomputer. Programming and use of the toy were difficult, at best.
At the time, advertising and promotion were relatively simple. All you had to do was reach the underground techies who were getting together in offices and homes in Boston, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Anaheim and other communities across the country on a weekly basis to share their latest advancements.
...more To bring the industry out of the closets, dining rooms and kitchens of the nation, we had to turn people into "computer operators."
The latest wave of change is slightly less than 10 years old--the global expansion of the Internet and World Wide Web. Suddenly, people are not only computer and telephone operators, they're postal workers and video camera operators.
A Change in Focus "High-Tech" is now mainstream. Computers and communications are mission-critical tools for businesses large and small and are being aggressively promoted as "must have" products for every home and office.
We've been through a period of change in the tone and timber of our marketing and PR. Today, it is not uncommon to see system, software and service firms advertising in Time, USA Today, Fortune, Business Week, Newsweek, Inc. and other business/consumer publications. They're also utilizing spots on "60 minutes," 20/20," "The Super Bowl" and other television and radio programs across the country. Their goal is to reach the often elusive, highly sophisticated and very influential users of today ... and tomorrow.
With the advent of on-line media and Usenet communications, every company today needs to simultaneously broaden and narrow the scope of their PR activities. Even firms that don't focus on technology have a wealth of opportunities and challenges.
Hair-eating Cabbage Patch dolls were first brutalized on the Internet and then killed by radio, TV and print. O.J. Simpson has droves of supporters, detractors and chroniclers, despite the legal verdicts. Apple Computer is being reinforced and slammed in the media and on the ...more Internet. The Cosby family received unprecedented support from the media and people around the globe following the murder of their son, while the National Rifle Association's (NRA) positions came under heavy attack. To make management's task even more difficult, companies must now reach, inform, influence and persuade a growing number of buying influences.
The Role of PR
On more than one occasion, management has tried to quiet or ignore their organizations' PR problems, only to find that it doesn't work.
The problem has been two-fold. First is the fact that, in many instances, management does not understand the role of public relations. Second, it looks at the money it is spending on all of its communications activities as an expense ... rather than an investment.
To put well-directed public relations it its proper context, let's look at how products and services (especially technical products and services) are bought and sold in the marketplace.
It is important to understand that the market is growing extensively as well as intensively. Firms and individuals who are basically unfamiliar with information technology are now using it at the office, at home and on the road. In addition, the technical thought leaders are finding new ways to use these products and services.
Global competitive pressures have never been greater and will only get worse. It is becoming increasingly essential that companies develop and use marketing-sensitive public relations on a worldwide basis.
...more Marketing sensitivity simply means a clear, concise understanding of the buying process. Millions of promotion dollars (corporate "image" advertising and PR) are being squandered because of:
* A poor grasp of what the consumer really wants and needs * Management's firm belief that they "know" (or worse yet, can tell buyers) what they need * Totally misguided advise from communications counsel The Differentiators In today's business environment, corporate managers realize that they are no longer simply buying products and services. They are buying the suppliers' total capabilities, including their technical expertise, and their reputation for customer support.
Buying decisions now go far beyond technical persuasions. People high in the organization and outside the technical areas have become the key decisions-makers.
Success is no longer assured by simply having a technically good or better product. Superior products languish and die every day.
The marketplace is so competitive that alternative sources for technically comparable products and services are readily available. For example, you can choose from over 1,100 local and 500 long distance phone service providers ... options abound in every field.
It is increasingly important that PR efforts also promote the company, the people and the philosophy of the firm behind the product or service.
...more Hidden Buying Influences Too many people look at market research projections and see no reason why their success shouldn't parallel that of the industry.
Management must gain a solid understanding of who is making the buying decisions within these market segments, professions and businesses.
Many years ago, Vance Packard coined the phrase "hidden persuaders." Companies now have new factors to consider in the marketplace ... hidden buying influences.
They exist in every organization. They cooperate, interrelate and influence the specifier prior to the buying decision. Their titles and functions vary within every organization, but they all have something in common. They're more concerned with the business and marketing nature of the decision than the technical practicality/viability of the decision.
As a result, corporate, marketing and public relations management have to address these hidden buying influences. Their training and experience is of immeasurable assistance to management in interpreting and understanding these individuals' buying considerations and needs.
The Benevolent Dictator In addition to promoting the technical aspects and reaching the business decision-making team, we cannot lose sight of the most important target within the prospect's organization ... the benevolent dictator.
We may vote for national, state and local leaders, but we don't vote for the people we work for. We don't get to vote for the management team ... for raises ... for promotions ... for the size of our office.
...more The benevolent dictator decides all of these items and more.
When you observe the benevolent dictators at work, you'll note that they allow others to do the basic research and make the preliminary judgments, but they reserve the final say for themselves.
This individual, or small group of individuals, holds the majority-of-one vote.
Public relations activities need to be designed to build advocacy within the prospect's organization. An advocate is anyone who really wants to buy from you. If your advocate is low on the organizational chart, his or her suggestion to buy from you is sent up through the channels as a recommendation. However, a highly placed advocate, with an identically worded idea, passes the information down the organizational chart as a directive.
Your PR and communications messages must reach the key benevolent dictators. They don't make all the decisions ... just the ones that count.
Hitting the New Target To successfully reach the new target, public relations and communications efforts have to be both broader and narrower. Companies can no longer limit their efforts to pumping out releases promoting the technical aspects of their products or services. They must also reach management with messages about business solutions for corporate productivity and profitability problems.
Unfortunately, most firms spend their time and effort developing their technical and "sell" strategies, leaving little or no time spent on their PR and communications strategy. A barrage of news releases, an editorial ...more tour or on-line Usenet discussion won't produce a lasting impression or long-term results.
When companies take the expanded approach to their public relations activities they keep two objectives in mind. First, they must sell the concept. Second, they must sell the proprietary benefits of the company behind the products and services.
Once you have convinced the key influences of the advantages of your products/services, a business' success becomes infinitely easier to predict.
Easier ... but not easy.
In his book "High Output Management," Andy Groves, president of Intel, speaks of leveraging as it relates to management. Simply stated, it means contacting those who are most influential in a given situation and having them pass the word along to others who are responsible for decisions and actions.
This enables you to reach the entire organization through a few contacts--with a minimum of time and effort. Successful public relations campaigns consistently have a high degree of leveraging built in, because astute communicators address and reach the benevolent dictators.
Quality, Not Quantity Someone long ago (and long forgotten) thought that quantity could replace quality in the eyes of management. Lo and behold, the fabulous bingo card emerged as "the proof of advertising value." Later on, PR people grasped the concept to prove their worth.
...more Bingo cards can bring forth a few of the hot prospects; but for the most part, big sales don't result from a new product write-up and someone following up on a bingo request.
Communication's True Mission Many managers in business today don't really understand the true mission of public relations. They don't understand the myriad of buying considerations that go beyond product specifications and price. But they are learning.
Marketing and communications expertise is being grafted into top management teams. They are asking their agencies to do more than "manage" the PR budgets and create news releases.
Agencies are being asked to help pinpoint the specific groups that are most likely to use the companies' products or services--the early adopters. Then, they develop communications programs--on-line, print and other media -- that efficiently and effectively reach, inform and persuade these adapters.
After these people are effectively reached, the job of expanding the message horizontally and vertically becomes significantly easier. Solid public relations activities are ideal tools for driving our increasingly sophisticated and heavily competitive business markets.
The real targets--managers and decision-makers--have to be hit right between the eyes with an organization's message(s). They don't have the time or inclination to sit by the water hole waiting for you to waste a quiver of arrows while you get the range.
Instead, you need to use heat-seeking missiles that hit the first time ... with deadly accuracy.
# # #
THE CHANGING FACE OF CORPORATE, PRODUCT/SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS ... HITTING A MOVING TARGET - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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