What Some Pros Know About PR

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Word count is 1125 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly 2005.
What Some Pros Know About PR
They know they had better do something positive about
those outside audiences that MOST affect their
organizations. Especially business, non-profit or association
managers, who also know they must persuade those key
external “publics” to the manager’s way of thinking, then
move those people to actions that allow that manager’s
department, division or subsidiary to succeed.
It all works because public relations applies its underlying
premise to deliver external stakeholder behavior change,
the kind that leads directly to achieving those managerial
objectives.
That’s why the pros let the tacticians handle the special
events, brochures and press releases. The pros have better
things to do.
Like implementing the underlying premise of public relations
that makes it all possible. 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.
Pros usually know that a variety of operating results can flow
from such an approach to public relations: customers starting to
make repeat purchases; prospects starting to work with you;
capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way;
welcome bounces in show room visits; membership applications
on the rise; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint
ventures; community leaders beginning to seek you out, and
even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key
member of the business, non-profit or association communities.
Your PR staff will be key whether they are your employees,
agency specialists or from a parent organization. You must get
them on board this particular approach to PR as soon as possible.
Ideally, they will already support why it’s so important to know
how your outside audiences perceive your operations, products or
services. Specifically, be sure they accept the reality that negative perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can damage your organization.
During your strategy meetings with PR staff, explain how you
plan to monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members
of your most important outside audiences. Questions such as:
how much do you know about our organization? 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?
You should be comforted by the fact that your PR people
are already in the perception and behavior business and can
be of real use for the initial opinion monitoring project.
Professional survey firms are always available, of course, but
that can be very expensive. However, whether it’s your people
or a survey firm who handles the questioning, the objective is
the same. Identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors,
inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negatives.
Establishing your corrective public relations goal – that is,
correcting or clarifying those negatives – is next. Here you
identify which negative is most serious, for example, spike that
rumor, clarify the false assumption or correct the untruths.
Never forget that you can meet that PR goal only when you select
the right strategy from the three choices available to you.
Change existing perception, create perception where there may
be none, or reinforce it. Picking the wrong strategy will taste like
meat sauce on your oatmeal. So be sure your new strategy fits
comfortably with your new public relations goal. You wouldn’t
want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce”
strategy.
While it’s always a challenge to put together action-forcing
language that will help persuade any audience to your
way of thinking, you must, nevertheless, create a persuasive,
corrective message aimed at members of your target audience.
Which is why you must have your best writer on this job.
You must have language that is not merely compelling,
persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to
shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and
lead to the behaviors you desire.
Now you get to supervise a much easier task – assembling the
communications tactics you need to carry your message to
the attention of your target audience. Double check that the
tactics you and your PR staff 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.
Remember that the believability of the message can depend
to some extent on the credibility of its delivery method. Which
means you may wish to deliver it in smaller meetings and
presentations rather than through a higher profile media
announcement.
Calls for progress reports are really calls for you and your
PR team to undertake a second perception monitoring session
with members of your external audience. You’ll want to use
many of the same questions used in the first benchmark
session. But now, you will be watching very carefully for
signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your
direction.
Should you decide to pick up the pace a bit, your PR program
usually can be accelerated by adding more communications
tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.
The really key point about this public relations approach is
that this particular 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.
Which means you can say goodbye to doing public relations
the hard way.
Here’s a public relations rule suitable for a place of honor on
your computers or your refrigerators. The people you deal
with do, in fact, behave like everyone else – they act upon
their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your
operation. A strong suggesting that you should deal promptly
and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is
necessary to reach and move your key external audiences to
actions you desire.
end