Try PR and Watch Something Interesting Happen
Try PR and Watch Something Interesting Happen
Try this: as a business, non-profit, public entity or
association manager, plan for and create the kind of
external stakeholder behavior change that leads
directly to achieving your managerial objectives.
And do so by persuading your key outside audiences
to your way of thinking, then move them to take
actions that allow your department, group, division
or subsidiary to succeed.
Interestingly, what you’ve done, is combine a sound
public relations strategy with effective communications
tactics leading directly to the bottom line – perception
altered, behavior modified, employer/client satisfied.
But of course it’s not automatic!
Instead, the mother of all PR plans is required. A plan
that will get each of their team members and organizational
colleagues working towards the same external stakeholder
behaviors.
Here is such a plan designed to keep a manager’s public
relations effort “on message:” 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.
Again interestingly, results can begin appearing quite early
in this process. For instance, capital givers or specifying
sources looking your way; prospects starting to work
with you; customers making repeat purchases; improved
relations with government agencies and legislative bodies;
a rebound in showroom visits; membership applications
on the rise; new thoughtleader and special event contacts;
new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
fresh community service and sponsorship opportunities;
and even stronger relationships with the educational, labor,
financial and healthcare communities.
The extent to which you use your PR staff will bear heavily
on your success as a manager. Will you use your regular
public relations staff? People assigned to you from above ?
Or will it be PR agency staff? Nevertheless, they must be
committed to you as the senior project manager, and to
the PR blueprint starting with key audience perception
monitoring.
Here, invest some real time satisfying yourself that team
members really believe that it’s crucially important to
know how your most important outside audiences perceive
your operations, products or services. Be certain they buy
the reality that perceptions almost always lead to
behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.
Reviewing the PR blueprint with staff is a good idea.
In particular 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 organization?
Have you had prior contact with us and were you
pleased with the exchange? How much do you know
about our services or products and employees? Have
you experienced problems with our people or
procedures?
Professional survey counsel is always available to you,
albeit expensive, for the perception monitoring phases
of your program. But remember that your PR people
are also in the perception and behavior business and
can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false
assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies,
misconceptions and any other negative perception that
might translate into hurtful behaviors.
The most serious distortions you discovered during your
key audience perception monitoring require that you do
something about them.This will be your new public
relations goal might calling for straightening out that
dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross
inaccuracy, or stopping that potentially fatal rumor.
Any hope for success in achieving your new PR goal
will demand a solid strategy backing up that new goal.
One that clearly indicates to you and the PR staff how to
proceed. But remember that there are just three
strategic options available to you when it comes to
handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change
existing perception, create perception where there
may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick
will taste like liver-stuffed ravioli. So, be certain the
new strategy fits well with your new public relations
goal. It goes without saying that you don’t want to
select “change” when the facts dictate a reinforce”
strategy.
Here, a powerful corrective message to be aimed at
members of your target audience is the order of the
day. Persuading an audience to your way of thinking
is not easy. Those PR folks of yours must come up with
words that are not only compelling, persuasive and
believable, but clear and factual. Only in this way
will you be able to correct a perception by shifting
opinion towards your point of view, leading to the
behaviors you are targeting.
Let your people regularly reevaluate the message to
decide if it is up to snuff and really persuasive. Then
select the communications tactics most likely to carry
that message to the attention of your target audience.
There are scores of available tactics. From
speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to
consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters,
personal meetings and many others. But be sure that
those you pick are known to reach folks just like your
audience members.
Because the credibility of the message itself can actually
depend on the perception of its delivery method, you
may decide to kick off the corrective message by
unveiling the message before smaller gatherings rather
than using higher-profile tactics such as news releases.
A followup perception monitoring session with members
of your external audience is advisable. PR people should
plan another visit to the field where you can gather
comparative data for use in producing progress reports.
You’ll want to use many of the same questions used in the
first benchmark session. Only this time, you will be
watching very carefully for signs that the bad news
perception is being altered in your direction.
There will be periods in which momentum slows, so
be prepared to accelerate matters with more
communications tactics and increased frequencies.
At this juncture, you’ve progressed beyond tactics like
special events, brochures, broadcast plugs and press
releases to achieve the very best public relations has
to offer.
And it’s REALLY interesting when you pull off this
PR hat trick – combining a sound public relations strategy
with effective communications tactics leading directly to
the bottom line – perception altered, behavior modified,
employer/client satisfied.
end
Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit, public
entity and association managers about using the fundamental
premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives.
He has authored 250 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
Try PR and Watch Something Interesting Happen - To learn more about this author, visit Bob Kelly's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Try PR and Watch Something Interesting Happen
Try this: as a business, non-profit, public entity or
association manager, plan for and create the kind of
external stakeholder behavior change that leads
directly to achieving your managerial objectives.
And do so by persuading your key outside audiences
to your way of thinking, then move them to take
actions that allow your department, group, division
or subsidiary to succeed.
Interestingly, what you’ve done, is combine a sound
public relations strategy with effective communications
tactics leading directly to the bottom line – perception
altered, behavior modified, employer/client satisfied.
But of course it’s not automatic!
Instead, the mother of all PR plans is required. A plan
that will get each of their team members and organizational
colleagues working towards the same external stakeholder
behaviors.
Here is such a plan designed to keep a manager’s public
relations effort “on message:” 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.
Again interestingly, results can begin appearing quite early
in this process. For instance, capital givers or specifying
sources looking your way; prospects starting to work
with you; customers making repeat purchases; improved
relations with government agencies and legislative bodies;
a rebound in showroom visits; membership applications
on the rise; new thoughtleader and special event contacts;
new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
fresh community service and sponsorship opportunities;
and even stronger relationships with the educational, labor,
financial and healthcare communities.
The extent to which you use your PR staff will bear heavily
on your success as a manager. Will you use your regular
public relations staff? People assigned to you from above ?
Or will it be PR agency staff? Nevertheless, they must be
committed to you as the senior project manager, and to
the PR blueprint starting with key audience perception
monitoring.
Here, invest some real time satisfying yourself that team
members really believe that it’s crucially important to
know how your most important outside audiences perceive
your operations, products or services. Be certain they buy
the reality that perceptions almost always lead to
behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.
Reviewing the PR blueprint with staff is a good idea.
In particular 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 organization?
Have you had prior contact with us and were you
pleased with the exchange? How much do you know
about our services or products and employees? Have
you experienced problems with our people or
procedures?
Professional survey counsel is always available to you,
albeit expensive, for the perception monitoring phases
of your program. But remember that your PR people
are also in the perception and behavior business and
can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false
assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies,
misconceptions and any other negative perception that
might translate into hurtful behaviors.
The most serious distortions you discovered during your
key audience perception monitoring require that you do
something about them.This will be your new public
relations goal might calling for straightening out that
dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross
inaccuracy, or stopping that potentially fatal rumor.
Any hope for success in achieving your new PR goal
will demand a solid strategy backing up that new goal.
One that clearly indicates to you and the PR staff how to
proceed. But remember that there are just three
strategic options available to you when it comes to
handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change
existing perception, create perception where there
may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick
will taste like liver-stuffed ravioli. So, be certain the
new strategy fits well with your new public relations
goal. It goes without saying that you don’t want to
select “change” when the facts dictate a reinforce”
strategy.
Here, a powerful corrective message to be aimed at
members of your target audience is the order of the
day. Persuading an audience to your way of thinking
is not easy. Those PR folks of yours must come up with
words that are not only compelling, persuasive and
believable, but clear and factual. Only in this way
will you be able to correct a perception by shifting
opinion towards your point of view, leading to the
behaviors you are targeting.
Let your people regularly reevaluate the message to
decide if it is up to snuff and really persuasive. Then
select the communications tactics most likely to carry
that message to the attention of your target audience.
There are scores of available tactics. From
speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to
consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters,
personal meetings and many others. But be sure that
those you pick are known to reach folks just like your
audience members.
Because the credibility of the message itself can actually
depend on the perception of its delivery method, you
may decide to kick off the corrective message by
unveiling the message before smaller gatherings rather
than using higher-profile tactics such as news releases.
A followup perception monitoring session with members
of your external audience is advisable. PR people should
plan another visit to the field where you can gather
comparative data for use in producing progress reports.
You’ll want to use many of the same questions used in the
first benchmark session. Only this time, you will be
watching very carefully for signs that the bad news
perception is being altered in your direction.
There will be periods in which momentum slows, so
be prepared to accelerate matters with more
communications tactics and increased frequencies.
At this juncture, you’ve progressed beyond tactics like
special events, brochures, broadcast plugs and press
releases to achieve the very best public relations has
to offer.
And it’s REALLY interesting when you pull off this
PR hat trick – combining a sound public relations strategy
with effective communications tactics leading directly to
the bottom line – perception altered, behavior modified,
employer/client satisfied.
end
Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit, public
entity and association managers about using the fundamental
premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives.
He has authored 250 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
Try PR and Watch Something Interesting Happen - To learn more about this author, visit Bob Kelly's Website.
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