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Another Look at a Manager's 2006 New Year's Resolution

Written by: Bob Kelly

Article Overview: As a manager, ever consider using a strategic public relations plan to alter the individual perception of members of your most important outside audiences? Since perceptions lead inevitably to behaviors that can help or hinder achieving your managerial objectives, you might want to think about it.

Another Look at a Manager's 2006 New Year's Resolution

Please feel free to publish this article in your ezine, newsletter,
offline publication or website. Only requirement: you must use
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1265 including guidelines and box. Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

Another Look at A Manager’s 2006 New Year’s Resolution

Many business, non-profit, public entity and association
managers, like the rest of us, still want to kick our bad
business habits and do something meaningful in the
year 2006.

And for many managers, public relations may be a
good place to prepare even a belated 2006 New Year’s
Resolution. For example, it’s hard to ignore the fact
that many business, non-profit, public entity and
association managers harbor a single-minded
preoccupation with simple communications tactics
like press releases, broadcast plugs, special events
and brochures, which denies them the best that public
relations has to offer.

Instead, in 2006, they can still resolve to use a strategic
PR plan that alters the individual perception of members
of a manager’s MOST important outside audiences. This
starts the process of changing their behaviors by actually
persuading many of those key, outside folks to a
manager’s way of thinking. Then, he/she helps move
audience members to take actions that allow that manager’s
department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

If what I’m about to say sounds like theory, it isn’t. It’s
both reality AND the underlying premise of public relations:
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.

Resolution-making managers will be pleased to note that
the right public relations planning really CAN alter
individual perception and lead to changed behaviors
among key outside audiences. It’s equally encouraging
when you remember that your PR effort must demand
more than special events, news releases and talk show
tactics if you are to receive the quality public relations
results you believe you deserve.

What results, you say? Try these: community leaders
begin to seek you out; welcome bounces in show room
visits; customers begin to make repeat purchases;
new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures
showing up; capital givers or specifying sources begin
to look your way; membership applications start to
rise; politicians and legislators begin looking at you
as a key member of the business, non-profit or association
communities; and prospects actually start to do business
with you.

Of course, as the manager in charge of all your direct
reports, you have a ready-made support staff on the PR
side. The public relations people assigned to you can be
of real use for your new opinion monitoring project
because they are already in the perception and behavior
business. But double check that your PR folks really
accept why it’s SO important to know how your most
important outside audiences perceive your operations,
products or services. In brief, be sure they believe that
perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can
help or hurt your operation.

It’s also essential that your PR staff buy into the need
to monitor and gather perceptions by questioning
members of your most important outside audiences.
Ask 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?

If your budget will allow, a survey firm can do the
opinion gathering work, but the cost can be heavy.
Alternatively, you can use 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.

One of the most important steps in establishing your
new strategic public relations plan is setting a PR
goal drawn from the most serious problem areas
you uncovered during your key audience perception
monitoring. Will you correct that gross inaccuracy?
Stop that potentially painful rumor dead? Or straighten
out that dangerous misconception?

The right strategy will show you the way to that PR
goal. But just three strategic options are available to
you when it comes to solving perception and
opinion problems. Change existing perception, create
perception where there may be none, or reinforce it.
The wrong strategy pick will taste like marshmallows
on your pot roast. So be certain 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.

In public relations, you’re never far from the need to
write something. And that’s true here. Your staff must
prepare a persuasive message that will help move your
key audience to your way of thinking. It must be a
carefully-written message aimed directly at your key
external audience. Select your very best writer because
s/he must come up with 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.

Moving your new message to your target audience
requires selecting those communications tactics most
likely to carry your message to the attention of those
folks. And many of them await your pleasure. 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 people
just like your audience members.

Now, communicating your message can be a
problem because the credibility of any message is
always fragile. And that’s why, at first, you may
wish to unveil your corrective message before
smaller meetings and presentations rather than
using higher-profile news releases.

When progress reports are contemplated, your first
thought should lead you to begin a second perception
monitoring session among members of your external
audience in order to measure headway. You can use
many of the same questions used in your benchmark
session. But this time, you will be on guard for signs
that the bad news perception is being altered in your
direction.

Any program can lose momentum, but you have two
options for speeding up the action: add more
communications tactics and increase their frequencies.

This manager’s 2006 New Year’s Resolution can put
your public relations program back on track. Especially
when it moves you away from a major emphasis on
communications tactics and on to a plan for doing
something positive about the behaviors of those
important external audiences of yours that most affect
your operation. And particularly so when you persuade
those key outside folks to your way of thinking by
helping to move them to take actions that allow your
department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

end

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 authored
245 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:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:www.PRCommentary.com

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