Something that results in your most important outside audiences doing what you need them to do should not be warming the bench.
But that’s exactly what’s happening at organizations that allow their public relations people to play games with tactics like newsletters, press releases and brochures instead of aggressively pursuing the major benefits PR can provide.
If this describes your public relations program, why not give real PR a chance, especially since you’re already paying for it?
Tell your public relations counsel you want to see the plan for how s/he will take advantage of the fact that people act on their own perception of the facts before them leading to predictable behaviors about which something can be done.
Ask her/him how aggressively s/he will create, change or reinforce those perceptions by reaching, persuading and moving-to-actions- you-desire those important external audience members whose behaviors really affect your organization?
That’s the fundamental premise of public relations and you should be getting your share of that action.
Fact is, this sequence can help you alter the perceptions, and thus behaviors of your most important external target audiences making achievement of your business objectives much easier.
This is good news for managers like you because, when the behavioral changes become apparent, and meet your public relations program’s original behavior modification goal, your PR effort has succeeded.
Done right, that’s when you’ll notice customers making repeat purchases; prospects starting to do business with you; community leaders seeking you out; businesses proposing beneficial joint ventures; and legislators and political leaders viewing you as an important member of the business community.
And that key target audience is just for starters because other external audiences of importance to you can also be monitored for perceptions, behaviors and corrective communications as needed.
Now, while there’s more than one way to peel an orange, here’s one high-impact, problem-solving sequence that can work for you.
Start by listing your most important audiences whose behaviors affect your operation in any way. Rank them by how severely their behaviors impact you, and let’s work on the target audience at the top of your list.
Of course you should be continually aware of how members of that key target audience view you by taking the opportunity to interact with folks who make up that audience, and ask questions. Have you heard of us? What do you think of our products or services? Listen carefully for signs of negativity and, when you hear them, probe a little deeper to find out details. Stay alert for inaccuracies, mistaken beliefs, rumors or misconceptions.
The answers to your questions will quickly coalesce into your new public relations goal