Tweet

The Worst PR Mistakes

Written by: Bob Kelly

Article Overview: This public relations blueprint can broaden your public relations field of fire and put its primary focus where it belongs, on your unit's key external stakeholder behaviors.

The Worst PR Mistakes

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
Only requirement: you musdt use the Robert A. Kelly
byline and resource box. Word count is 1050 including
guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

The Worst PR Mistakes

For a business, non-profit or association manager, they
could be fatal, coming as they do in four bitter flavors.

Mistake #1 – You limit your PR activity pretty much to
placing product and service plugs on radio and in
newspapers.

Mistake #2 – You fail to embrace the kind of PR plan that
persuades those important outside audiences to your way of
thinking, then moves them to take actions that help your
department, division or subsidiary succeed.

Mistake #3 -- You fail to use the high-impact, fundamental
premise of public relations to deliver external stakeholder
behavior change – the kind that leads directly to achieving
your managerial objectives.

Mistake #4 -- you fail to get the creative potential of your
assigned PR team or agency which you need to positively
impact the behaviors of the very outside audiences that
MOST affect your unit.

Here’s one way to reverse that hurtful process. Take a look
at this fundamental public relations blueprint. 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 accomplished.

Such a blueprint will broaden your public relations field
of fire and put its primary focus where it belongs, on your
unit’s key external stakeholder behaviors.

A variety of results is likely. For example, fresh
proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
customers starting to make repeat purchases; membership
applications on the rise; prospects starting to do business
with you; community leaders beginning to seek you out;
welcome bounces in show room visits; higher employee
retention rates, capital givers or specifying sources
starting to look your way, and even politicians and
legislators beginning to view you as a key member of the
business, non-profit or association communities.

Before you begin such a makeover, make certain the
public relations people assigned to your unit really believe
– deep down -- why it’s SO important to know how your
most important outside audiences perceive your operations,
products or services. Make sure they accept the reality that
perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help
or hurt your unit.

Sit down with them and discuss your plan for monitoring
and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your
most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how
much do you know about our chief executive? Have you had
prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange?
How much do you know about our services or products and
employees? Have you experienced problems with our people
or procedures?

Luckily for you, your PR people are in the perception and
behavior business to begin with, so they can really do a job
for you on this crucially important opinion monitoring project.
Professional survey firms are always available, but they can
be very expensive. Nevertheless, whether it’s your people or
a survey firm asking the questions, your objective is to identify
untruths if not outright lies, false assumptions, unfounded
rumors, inaccuracies, and misconceptions .

Then you must carefully select which of the above
aberrations becomes your corrective public relations goal –
clarify the misconception, spike that rumor, correct the
false assumption or fix certain other inaccuracies.

Selecting the wrong strategy to show you how to reach
your goal is like eating corned beef and cabbage without
the horseradish mustard and potatoes. Fact is, you can
achieve your PR goal by picking the right strategy from
the three choices available to you, change existing perception,
create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it.
But be sure your new strategy dovetails nicely with that new
public relations goal.

But what will you say when you finally get the opportunity
to address your key stakeholder audience that will help
persuade them to your way of thinking?

Select your best writer to prepare the message because s/he
must put together some very special, corrective language.
Words that are not only 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.

Happily, the next step is easy. You select communications
tactics to carry your message to the attention of your target
audience. Making certain that the tactics you select have a
record of reaching folks like your audience members, you
can pick from dozens that are available. From speeches,
facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings,
media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many
others.

Experience shows that HOW one communicates often affects
the credibility of the message. So, you may wish to deliver it
in small getogethers like meetings and presentations rather
than through a higher-profile media announcement.

Time to look for signs of progress. And that means a second
perception monitoring session with members of your external
audience. Employing many of the same questions used in the
first benchmark session, you will now be watching carefully
for signs that the offending perception is being altered in your
direction.

Aren’t we fortunate that these matters usually can be
accelerated by adding more communications tactics as well
as increasing their frequencies.

This workable public relations blueprint will help you
persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your
way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that leads
to the success of your department, division or subsidiary.

The people you deal with behave like everyone else – they act
upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and
your operation. Leaving you little choice but to deal promptly
and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is
necessary to reach and move those key external audiences to
action.

end

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 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:http://www.prcommentary.com

Related Articles
  Best and Worst
  Lessons from Worst Bosses
  The bad table
  Common Sales Mistakes Part 3
  Lesson #1: “If you get knocked down, get back up again”

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: What is your worst / best month? - Best: October, November, April Worst: January, February, July
Re: What is your worst / best month? - Best = January, February and March. Worst = April (tac season) July and August (vacations).
Re: What is your worst / best month? - Best months for my business are historically March/April/May & August/Sept/Oct Worst months: December/January (Holidays) & June/July (Vacations) I see our traffic go way up during the good months and way down during the bad months. Very cyclic. Keep in mind, my clients buy businesses and no one thinks of doing that during the holiday or during vacation.
Re: What would you like to see be invented? - [quote="christew":akzjeuhi] I use un-official ones with no trouble. Its just a plastic box with ink in it and a microchip. Don't trust the propaganda from the printer manufacturers about the official cartridges. Worst that has happened is one cartridge that did not work, and one that was blocked. But thats pretty rare and given how much cheaper they are it still costs loads less.[/quote:akzjeuhi] I was afraid that they would mess up my printer somehow. At least that's what I was told would happen. [quote:akzjeuhi]Not the epson one I am currently using.[/quote:akzjeuhi] As far as I know only HP printers do it. [quote:akzjeuhi]My other feature I forgot to add was that installation is as simple as plugging it in.[/quote:akzjeuhi] Ahh yes, the installation time is outrageous.
Re: What would you like to see be invented? - [quote="Alan Mater":2nt28bju]Amen to that. Luckily my new printer's cartridges are about half the cost of my old printer's, but still, they're expensive enough. And, I don't trust the unofficial cartridges.[/quote:2nt28bju] I use un-official ones with no trouble. Its just a plastic box with ink in it and a microchip. Don't trust the propaganda from the printer manufacturers about the official cartridges. Worst that has happened is one cartridge that did not work, and one that was blocked. But thats pretty rare and given how much cheaper they are it still costs loads less. [quote:2nt28bju]There are printers that use separate cartridges for each color, but that's even more expensive. It would at least let you use the other colors if one runs out, though.[/quote:2nt28bju] Not the epson one I am currently using. My other feature I forgot to add was that installation is as simple as plugging it in.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Top Ten Home-Based Businesses

Starting a Business a Brave Move or a NoBrainer

How to develop the best lateral thinking skills

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.