When Managers Play the PR Card

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Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

When Managers Play the PR Card

The payoff for business, non-profit or association
managers can be a real assist towards meeting their
department, division or subsidiary objectives.

Playing that public relations card means they’ve decided
to pursue their objectives by reaching, persuading and
moving those outside audiences whose behaviors most
affect their organizations, to actions those managers
desire.

Here’s a blueprint to help them do just 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
accomplished.

In other words, here is the PR blueprint and tools you
need to persuade your most important external
stakeholders to your way of thinking. And then move
them to take actions that lead to your success.

First step? Shift the attention of the PR team assigned
to your unit away from communications tactics and over
to a more effective action plan like the one outlined above.

You’ll know it’s worth the effort when you begin to see
stakeholder behaviors like strong increases in inquiries,
more repeat purchases, new proposals for strategic
alliances or joint ventures, a fresh round of employment
inquiries, or stronger contribution levels.

Lay it all out for the PR people who work for your unit,
especially why it’s a must to list in priority order those key
outside audiences whose behaviors impact your operation
the most. Talk about the importance of discovering how
your organization is perceived by those audience members.
Particularly because such perceptions almost always result
in predictable behaviors that can affect the success of
your unit for better or for worse.

If you have a large, uncommitted budget, you can use
professional survey counsel to interact with target audience
members and ask the important questions. “Do you know
anything about us? Do you have an opinion about our
products or services? Have you ever had a transaction with
us? Was it a positive experience?” Or, members of your
public relations team can handle this crucial task since
perception, persuasion and behavior are prime concerns of
theirs, or certainly should be.

While handling the perception monitoring chore, keep an
eye out for negative comment and voice inflections.
Especially watch for inappropriate assumptions,
misconceptions, inaccuracies, rumors and clearly negative
attitudes.

Once you collect these data, you’re ready to establish your
public relations goal. For example, torpedo those false
assumptions, turn those misconceptions around, or correct
that unfortunate inaccuracy.

The goal by itself is not much use without a strategy to show
you how to reach it. As luck would have it, there are just three
strategies available in the perception and opinion game: create perception/opinion where there simply isn’t any, change the
existing perception, or reinforce it. Makes things simple, but
be sure the strategy you select is an obvious fit with your
new goal.

The meat on this bone is the actual message you will prepare
should the perceptions you discovered require some alteration.
This is not a simple writing job and the very best writing talent
on your PR team will be required. The message must be both
persuasive AND compelling. It must be very clear as to what
is being corrected and why. Factual support, of course, must be
above challenge if your message is to be believable as it works
to alter perception in your direction.

And now to the easy part of this public relations problem
solving sequence – getting that message to the right eyes and
ears among the members of your target audience. The main
limiting factor will be the size of your budget since there are
dozens of communications tactics available to carry that message.
They range from emails, speeches and private meetings to
newsletters, media interviews, brochures and group briefings.
Just be sure the tactics you decide to go with demonstrate that
they can reach the same kind of folks that populate your target
audience.

You’ll be best equipped to answer queries about program
progress after you and your PR team again interact with those
target audience members asking the same questions used in
the initial perception monitoring session. Big difference in the
two sessions? This time, all hands will be alert to any signs
that the negative perception has actually been altered.

Want things to move faster? Add more communications
tactics, increase their frequencies and take another look at
your message to be certain it's really persuasive and
compelling.

The good news is, when managers play the PR card, they
concentrate on persuading their most important external
stakeholders to their way of thinking. And then moving
those target audience members to take actions that lead to
the managers on-the-job success.

end