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Managers: Should Your PR Budget Stress Tactics or Strategy?

Written by: Bob Kelly

Article Overview: One hopes you don't believe tactics ARE public relations. That would be too bad because it suggests that you are not effectively planning to alter individual perception, and thus behaviors, among your key outside audiences, which then would help you achieve your managerial objectives.

Managers: Should Your PR Budget Stress Tactics or Strategy?

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Managers: Should Your PR Budget Stress
Tactics or Strategy?

If public relations tactics like special events, brochures,
broadcast plugs and press releases dominate your answer,
you’re missing the best PR has to offer.

Such a budget would tell us that you believe tactics ARE
public relations. And that would be too bad, because it
means you are not effectively planning to alter individual
perception among your key outside audiences which then
would help you achieve your managerial objectives.

It would also tell us that, even as a business, non-profit or
association manager, you’re not planning to do anything
positive about the behaviors of those important external
audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation. Nor
are you preparing to 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.

So, it takes more than good intentions for you as a manager
to alter individual, key-audience perception leading to
changed behaviors. It takes a carefully structured plan
dedicated to getting every member of the PR team working
towards the same external audience behaviors insuring that
the organization’s public relations effort stays sharply focused.

The absence of such a plan is always unfortunate because
the right public relations planning really CAN alter individual
perception and lead to changed behaviors among key outside
audiences.

If this sounds vaguely familiar, try to remember that your
PR effort must require more than special events, news
releases and talk show plugs if you are to receive the quality
public relations results you deserve.

The payoff can materialize faster than you may think in
the form of welcome bounces in show room visits;
customers beginning to make repeat purchases; capital
givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way;
membership applications on the rise; the appearance of
new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
politicians and legislators beginning to look at you as a
key member of the business, non-profit or association
communities; prospects actually starting to do business
with you; and community leaders begin to seek you out.

It’s always nice to simply hire a survey firm to handle the
opinion monitoring/data gathering phase of your effort.
But that can cost real money. Luckily, your public relations
professionals can often fill that bill because they are already
in the perception and behavior business. But satisfy yourself
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. And be doubly certain
they believe that perceptions almost always result in
behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Share 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 pleased
with the interchange? Are you familiar with our services
or products and employees? Have you experienced
problems with our people or procedures?

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.

It’s goal-setting time during which you will establish a
goal calling for action on the most serious problem areas
you uncovered during your key audience perception
monitoring. You’ll want to straighten out that dangerous
misconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, stop
that potentially painful rumor cold?

Of course, setting your PR goal requires an equally
specific strategy that tells you how to get there. 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 onion gravy on your rhubarb pie. 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.

It’s always time for good writing, but never as now. You
must prepare a persuasive message that will help move
your key audience to your way of thinking. 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 they are to shift perception/opinion
towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you
have in mind.

Here’s where you need the communications tactics certain
to carry your message to the attention of your target
audience. 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.

How you communicate, however, is always a major concern.
The credibility of any message is always fragile. Which is
why you’ll probably want to unveil your corrective message
before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using
higher-profile news releases.

When the need for a progress report appears, you’ll want to
begin a second perception monitoring session with members
of your external audience. You’ll certainly use many of the
same questions used in the benchmark session. But now,
you will be watching closely for signs that the bad news
perception is finally moving positively in your direction.

Fortunately, if things slow down, you can always speed up
the program by adding more communications tactics as well
as increasing their frequencies.

Finally, allow the tacticians a free hand in selecting whether
this tactic or that tactic should be used as the beast of burden
needed to carry your message to your target audience.

You take the broader view of public relations and stress the
strategic approach because it requires you as the manager to
effectively plan to alter individual perception, and thus behaviors,
among your key outside audiences, thus helping you achieve
your managerial objectives.

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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