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Managers Is PR Crucial to your Success

Written by: Bob Kelly

Article Overview: Yes, indeed, because somewhere out there is an external audience or two whose behaviors can help or hinder your achieving your managerial objectives.

Managers Is PR Crucial to your Success

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guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

Managers: Is PR Crucial to your Success?

The answer is a loud YES if you’re a business, non-profit,
government agency or association manager. Because
somewhere out there is an external audience or two whose
behaviors can help or hinder your achieving your managerial
objectives. And THAT spells c-r-u-c-i-a-l.

Public relations enters your equation as you begin the action
planning and resource assembly needed to alter individual
perception leading to changed behaviors among your most
important outside audiences. Then, as a manager, PR goes
on to help you persuade those key outside folks to your way
of thinking, then move them to take actions that allow your
department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

That’s managerial success you cannot ignore.

And it works because public relations’ underlying
premise lays the proper foundation: 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.

What it boils down to, is this: the right public relations
planning really CAN alter individual perception and
lead to changed behaviors among key outside audiences,
and thus, managerial success.

But keep in mind as you move forward, that your PR
effort will demand more than special events, news
releases and talk show tactics if you are to receive the
quality public relations results you deserve.

You’ll be glad you took such a step when new proposals
for strategic alliances and joint ventures start showing up;
new (and very) welcome bounces in show room visits
occur; capital givers or specifying sources begin to look
your way; customers begin to make repeat purchases;
membership applications start to rise; prospects actually
start to do business with you; politicians and legislators
begin looking at you as a key member of the business,
non-profit or association communities; and local leaders
begin to seek you out.

By the way, and not so incidentally, your staff PR pros
can be of real use for your new opinion monitoring project
because they are already in the perception and behavior
business. But be certain 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.
Above all, be sure they believe that perceptions almost
always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your
operation.

Spend a few minutes with staff PR and review your plans
with them for monitoring and gathering 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 satisfied with the exchange?
Are you familiar with our services or products and
employees? Have you experienced problems with our
people or procedures?

Another reality of PR life? Bringing in survey pros to
do the opinion gathering work will be considerably more
costly than using those PR folks of yours, who are
already in the perception business. But regardless of
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.

Your call for action will establish your PR goal requiring
action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered
during your key audience perception monitoring. Will it
be to straighten out that dangerous misconception?
Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, stop that potentially
painful rumor cold?

Of course, setting your public relations goal will
demand an equally specific strategy that tells you how
to reach that goal. Only three strategic options are
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. The wrong strategy pick will
taste like chicken gravy on your fried eels, 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.

Because you must prepare a persuasive message that
will help move your key audience to your way of
thinking, good writing becomes paramount. It must
be a carefully-written message targeted directly at
your key external audience. Select your very best
writer because s/he must come up with 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.

As you no doubt are aware, your message will be
carried to the attention of your target audience by
communications tactics. And there are many
available. 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.

The WAY you communicate your message is
important since the credibility of any message is
fragile and always up for grabs. Thus, initially, you
may wish to unveil your corrective message before
smaller meetings and presentations rather than
using higher-profile news releases.

To demonstrate progress, you will need to undertake
a second 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 event there is a loss of program momentum,
you should know that you can always speed things
up by adding more communications tactics as well
as increasing their frequencies.

Clearly, PR is crucial to any manager’s success if
for no other reason than that s/he needs the kind of
public relations effort that leads directly to achieving
their managerial objectives. Then, and only then, will
they enjoy the best public relations has to offer,
especially the quality results they believe they deserve.

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 published
240 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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