by Robert
A. Kelly
So,
what IS a public relations
bullseye? The public relations
professional must modify
somebody's behavior if he or she
is to hit that bullseye and earn a
paycheck - everything else is a
means to that end.
Here's why. In public relations, a
bullseye can mean survival when it
successfully changes the
perceptions and, hence, the
behaviors of certain groups of
people important to the success of
the organization. In other words,
when those changes clearly meet
the original behavior modification
goal set at the beginning of the
program, the public relations
effort is successful and scores
the bullseye.
But, is public relations really
equipped to do that? Yes, because
its roots are planted deeply in
the principle that people act on
their own perceptions of the
facts. When public relations
successfully creates, changes or
reinforces public opinion by
reaching, persuading and
moving-to-action those people
whose behaviors affect the
organization, it accomplishes its
mission -- a bullseye!
HOW
IT WORKS
1) The public relations
effort should be focused on the
three realities alluded to above:
-
People
act on their perception of the
facts;
-
Perceptions
lead to behaviors;
-
Something
can be done about those
perceptions and behaviors that
leads to achieving the
organization's operating
objectives.
2)
Identify the key operating problem
to be addressed.
One example could be a national
marketer of furniture imported
from the Far East. News reports
and other input, amplified by
competitive trouble-making out in
the trade, suggest there are
quality problems in the company's
factories in Southeast Asia.
3) Verify truth or
falsity of the allegations.
Because the company's sales have
leveled off and are starting to
decline, public relations counsel
and staff, working closely with
the company's manufacturing people
here and abroad, establish
conclusively that reports and
rumors of declining quality are
without foundation, and simply
untrue.
4) Verify status of
both consumer and trade
perceptions of the company's
product quality.
Probing consumer opinion through
personal contact and informal
polling out in the market place,
counsel and staff determine that,
in fact, there IS a disturbing
perception that the company's
furniture line is "of low
quality and not worth the prices
asked."
It is useful to recall here that
public relations problems are
often defined by what people think
about a set of facts, as opposed
to the actual truth of the matter.
Here, it is clear that negative
trade and consumer perceptions
about the company's products,
however inaccurate they may be,
account for the decline in
showroom traffic and sales, and
must be confronted.
5)
Establish the public relations
goal.
The goal is to begin the process
of changing public perception of
the company's furniture quality
from negative to positive, leading
to consumer behavioral changes, in
turn attracting furniture buyers
to company showrooms once
again.
6) Determine the public
relations strategy.
Will it be to CREATE opinion where
none exists, CHANGE existing
opinion, or REINFORCE that
existing opinion? In this case, it
is clear that considerable
existing opinion has turned
negative on the quality of the
company's furniture, so the public
relations strategy will be to
CHANGE that opinion from negative
to positive.
7) Establish the
perception and modification goals.
Goals here will be measured in
terms of customers returning to
the showrooms, along with
increasing sales, in the first
three to six months following the
program's kickoff, which obviously
will require considerable
communications firepower to
achieve. Once the negative
perceptions are truly understood,
such a marker can be set down, and
agreed upon, establishing the
degree of behavioral change that
realistically can be expected.
8) Identify the key
audiences.
Public relations counsel and staff
start with a priority-ranking of
those audiences with a clear
interest in the organization,
often referred to as
"stakeholders" or
"publics." In this case,
at the top of the list is the
furniture-buying public -
prospects and customers - as well
as the trade and business
communities, employees, local
thought-leaders and media in the
company's retail outlet locations,
and a number of other possible
stakeholder groups.
9) Prepare persuasive
messages.
Bringing those important target
audiences around to one's way of
thinking depends heavily on the
quality of the message prepared
for each of them.
It's not easy. The messages must
disarm the rumors with clear
evidence of excellent design and
construction quality, and seconded
by credible third-party
endorsements such as satisfied
customers and top design
consultants. They will impart a
sense of credibility to the
company's statements. Regular
assessments of how opinion is
currently running among target
groups must be performed,
constantly adjusting the message
and, finally, action-producing
incentives for individuals to take
the desired actions must be
identified and built into each
message.
Those incentives might include the
very strength of the company's
forthright position on the quality
issue, plans for expansion that
hold the promise of more jobs and
taxes, or sponsorship of new
furniture design shows on local
cable channels.
10) Select the most
effective communications tactics
and commence action.
How will target audiences in the
various company locations actually
be reached? Choices include
face-to-face meetings, hand-placed
feature articles and broadcast
appearances, special consumer
briefings, news releases,
announcement luncheons, onsite
media interviews, facility tours,
promotional contests, brochures
and a variety of other
communications tactics.
Special events are especially
effective in reaching target
audiences with the message. They
are newsworthy by definition and
include activities such as
financial roadshows, awards
ceremonies, trade conventions,
celebrity appearances and open
houses.
The effort can be accelerated,
even amplified by carefully
selecting the most efficient
tactics such as print or broadcast
media, key podium presentations or
top-level personal contacts
because, when these tools
communicate with each target
audience, they must score direct
bullseyes.
Equally important to the success
of the action program will be the
selection and perceived
credibility of the actual
spokespeople who deliver the
messages. They must speak with
authority and conviction if
meaningful media coverage is to be
achieved.
11) Monitor progress and
seek signs of improvement.
Public relations counsel and staff
must speak regularly with members
of each target audience, monitor
print and broadcast media for
evidence of the company's messages
or viewpoints, and conduct a
variety of interactions with key
customers, prospects and
influentials.
Indicators that the messages are
moving opinion in the company's
direction will start appearing.
Indicators like comments in
community business meetings, local
newspaper editorials, e-mails from
members of target audiences as
well as public references by
political figures and local
celebrities.
Now, the action program should
begin to gain and hold the kind of
public understanding and
acceptance that will lead to the
desired shift in public behavior.
Executed correctly - especially
against the reality of plunging
sales -- we're talking about
nothing less than the
organization's survival.
12) And the end-game?
When the changes in behaviors
become truly apparent through
increased showroom traffic, media
reports, thought-leader comment,
employee and community chatter and
a variety of other feedback - in
other words, clearly meeting the
original behavior modification
goal -- the public relations
program can be deemed a success.
In the end, a sound strategy
combined with effective tactics
leads directly to the bottom line
- altered perceptions, modified
behaviors, a happy CEO and a
public relations bullseye.
PR
consultant Bob Kelly was
director of PR for Pepsi-Cola
Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR,
Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News
Shipbuilding; director of
communications, U.S. Department
of the Interior, and deputy
assistant press secretary, The
White House.
bobkelly@TNI.net
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