Managers: You Know YOUR Job, but What About Public Relations? by:Robert A. Kelly
Sure, you're a business, non-profit, association or
government agency manager specializing in activities like
sales, human resources, distribution, finance, program
management or any of many other operating functions.
So you know what you're doing.
But what about the money you're hopefully spending
on public relations, which happens NOT to be your managerial
specialty!?
Are you doing the action planning you need to alter
individual perception leading to changed behaviors
among your most important outside audiences? Are you
trying to persuade those key folks to your way of thinking,
then move them to take actions that lets your department,
group, division or subsidiary succeed?
Or are you narrowly focused on tactics instead of that
core PR strategy? Tactics like brochures, broadcast plugs
and press releases which are simple devices public
relations calls upon from time to time to move a message
from here to there.
When you adopt the core PR strategy discussed in this
article, you are then free to move beyond tactics and pay
closer attention to the perceptions and behaviors of your
most important external audiences, the very people who
could hold your professional success as a manager in
their hands.
Which means that you have little choice about doing
something positive about the behaviors of those key
external groups of people whose behaviors most affect
your operation.
Energizing such an effort is the reality that 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.
Happily, results can come quickly when business,
non-profit or association managers use public
relations to alter individual perception among their
target publics, leading to changed behaviors which
helps achieve their managerial objectives.
But please keep in mind that your PR effort really
must demand more than special events, brochures
and press releases if you are to achieve the quality
public relations results you're counting on.
Fortunately, those results can happen right away.
For example, capital givers or specifying sources
begin to look your way; fresh proposals for strategic
alliances and joint ventures appear; politicians and
legislators begin to view you as a key member of
the business, non-profit, association or government
communities; customers start to make repeat purchases;
membership applications rise as do welcome bounces
in show room visits, and even prospects starting to do
business with you or community leaders beginning
to seek you out.
Another bonus is that your PR people are already
in the perception and behavior business, and can be
of real use for your new opinion monitoring
project. 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. And the reason
why: perceptions almost always result in behaviors
that can help or hurt your operation.
Sit down with your PR staff and go over your
plans for monitoring and gathering perceptions by
questioning members of your most important outside
audiences. Questions along these lines: 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?
Do a comparison using your PR people in the
monitoring job versus the cost of using professional
survey firms to do the opinion gathering work. You
may find that using your public relations people is
the better choice. But, whether it's your people or a
survey firm asking the questions, the objective
is the same: identify untruths, false assumptions,
unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions
and any other negative perception that might
translate into hurtful behaviors.
Here, you'll need to establish a goal calling for
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, quickly stop that potentially
painful rumor?
Of course you can't move forward without a
supporting strategy to show you HOW to reach that
goal. Truth is, there are 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. The wrong strategy pick will
taste like sun-dried tomatoes on your Lemon Meringue
pie. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your
new public relations goal. You wouldn't want to
select "change" when the facts say "reinforce."
It is here that you have the opportunity to write 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. Your very best writer will
be needed because s/he must produce really
corrective language. Words that are 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.
If any step in the public relations problem solving
sequence can be described as "fun," it's selecting
the communications tactics most likely 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.
It's not generally recognized by many writers, but
HOW you communicate must also concern you
since the credibility of any message is very fragile.
Which is why you may wish to unveil your corrective
message before smaller meetings and presentations
rather than using higher-profile news releases.
Sooner or later the subject of progress reports will
surface, which means you and your PR team should
view the notion as an alert to begin 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.
The icing on the cupcake is the fact that you can
always speed things up by adding more
communications tactics as well as increasing their
frequencies, should program momentum slow.
Yes, it seems fairly safe to say that you know what
you're doing as a manager of one of the traditional
operating functions in a business, non-profit,
association or government agency.
But the seminal public relations questions still await
your attention. What are you doing to alter individual
perception leading to changed behaviors among your
most important outside audiences? And are you trying
to persuade those key folks to your way of thinking,
then move them to take actions that let your
department, group, division or subsidiary succeed?
Only in that way will you move beyond PR tactics
like special events, brochures, broadcast plugs and
press releases to truly achieve the best public
relations has to offer.
Robert A. Kelly 2005
Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Word count is 1345 including guidelines and resource box.
About the author
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
200 articles on the subject which are listed at , 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
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