Managers: PR, Do You Really Understand It?

by Bob Kelly

Published on this site: February 13th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

Like many human resource, finance, distribution or manufacturing managers, do you simply view PR as able to create some publicity by moving a message from one point to another using tactics like brochures, broadcast plugs and press releases?

Or, are you a business, non-profit, government agency or association manager who needs the kind of public relations effort that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives? That would tell me that you no longer wish to be denied the best public relations has to offer, and that you want to pursue the quality public relations results you believe you deserve.

If that sounds like you, but you feel the need to understand a little more about public relations, let's take a quick look at a high-impact action plan designed to do something meaningful about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that most affect the departmental, divisional or subsidiary unit you manage.

What the plan does, is create the kind of external stakeholder behaviour change that leads directly to achieving those managerial objectives of yours; in this case by persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking by helping move audience members to take actions that help your unit succeed.

It will soon become apparent that the good news implicit in PR's underlying premise is the reality that good public relations planning really can alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences.

What about that underlying premise? Take it for a spinand see if it makes sense. 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.

This kind of public relations can deliver the results you want: community leaders begin to seek you out; customers begin to make repeat purchases; new 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; capital givers or specifying sources begin to look your way; welcome bounces in show room visits occur; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures start showing up; and membership applications start to rise.

Be sure to spend some quality time with your PR people analyzing your plans for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest queries along these lines: 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?

Happily for all, your PR staff is already in the perception and behavior business whether they come from an agency, parent company or are direct hires. So, while looking first to them to manage your data gathering activity, be certain that they really accept why it's so important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. In a word or two, be sure they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

At the same time, be aware that asking professional survey firms to do the opinion gathering work, can be very costly when compared to using 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 behaviours.

A clearcut and realistic PR goal is an absolute necessity.It must call for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. You may decide to straighten out that dangerous misconception, bring to an end that potentially painful rumor, or correct that awful inaccuracy.

In like manner, establishing the right action-oriented strategy will show you how to get to where you're going.Truth is, you have just three strategic options 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. Needless to say, the wrong strategy pick will taste like beef gravy on your red snapper. 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're going to have to prepare a persuasive message that will help move your key audience to your way of thinking, ask the best writer on your team to get ready to prepare a carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external audience. The writer must produce some 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.

Carefully selected communications tactics will carry your message to the attention of your target audience, and there are many such tactics 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.

By the way, you may wish initially to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings rather than using higher profile news releases. Reason is,a message's credibility is always fragile and often suspect depending on the method by which it was delivered.

In due course, you'll be demonstrating, in the form of periodic progress reports, how the monies spent on public relations can pay off. But it's also an alert to start a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Here, you'll use many of the same questions used in the benchmark interviews. Only difference now is, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

As is often the case with programmatic activity, therecould be a slowdown. But keep in mind that adding more communications tactics, and/or increasing their frequencies, should adequately address that problem.

Thus, understanding public relations and how it can best be used by managers, requires that such managers move well beyond communications tactics. They must create a high-impact PR action plan focused on key external audiences, and designed to deliver the very best public relations has to offer.

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 over 230 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:[email protected] Visit:www.PRCommentary.com