Well, if you’re a business, non-profit or association
manager, bad PR does nothing positive about the
behaviors of those important outside audiences of
yours that most affect your operation.

It fails to create external stakeholder behavior change
leading directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

And it never does persuade those key outside folks to
your way of thinking, or move them to take actions that
allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

Good PR, on the other hand, really CAN alter individual
perception and lead to the changed behaviors you need.
At the same time, however, it requires more than special
events, brochures and news releases if you really want to
get your PR money’s worth.

Your inoculation against bad PR is the underlying premise
of public relations, and here it is: 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.

You may be surprised that good PR can generate results like
prospects starting to work with you; customers making
repeat purchases; stronger relationships with the educational,
labor, financial and healthcare communities; improved
relations with government agencies and legislative bodies,
and even capital givers or specifying sources looking your way

As the effort gains momentum, you can also see results
such as new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
rebounds in showroom visits; membership applications on the
rise; community service and sponsorship opportunities; enhanced
activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels, not
to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

Just how vital is it that your most important outside audiences
really perceive your operations, products or services in a
positive light? Vital indeed, so assure yourself that your PR
staff has bought into the whole effort. Be especially careful
that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always
lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Take the time to review the PR blueprint in detail with
your staff, especially how you will gather and monitor
matters by questioning members of your most important
outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you
know about our organization? How much do you know
about our services or products and employees? Have you
had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the
interchange? Have you experienced problems with our
people or procedures?

The perception monitoring phases of your program can
obviously be handled by professional survey people, IF the
budget is available. But always keep in mind that your PR
people are also in the perception and behavior business and
can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false
assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies,
misconceptions and any other negative perception that
might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Now, let’s talk about your public relations goal. You need
one that speaks to the aberrations that showed up during
your key audience perception monitoring. In all probability,
it will call for straightening out that dangerous misconception,
or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or doing something about
that damaging rumor.

The realities of public relations are that goals need strategies
to show you how to get there. And also that you have just
three strategic choices when it comes to handling a perception
or opinion challenge: create perception where there may
be none, change the perception, or reinforce it. Unfortunately,
a bad strategy pick will taste like ice cream on your corned
beef and cabbage, so be certain the new strategy fits well
with your new public relations goal. For example, you don’t
want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce”
strategy.

Your PR team must create just the right, corrective language.
Persuading an audience to your way of thinking is awfully
hard work, so we’re looking for words that are compelling,
persuasive and believable AND clear and factual. You must
do this if you are to correct a perception by shifting opinion
towards your point of view, leading to the desired behaviors.

Here you must select the communications tactics most likely
to carry your words to the attention of your target audience.
Meet again with your communications specialists and review
your message for impact and persuasiveness. You can pick
from dozens of available tactics. From speeches, facility tours,
emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews,
newsletters, personal meetings and many others. Just be sure
that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like
your audience members.

On the chance that the old line about the credibility of a
message depending on its delivery method is true, you might
think about introducing it to smaller gatherings rather than
using higher-profile communications such as news releases or
talk show appearances.

Consider yourself alerted when the topic of a progress report
is suggested. Time for you and your PR folks to return to the
field for a second perception monitoring session with members
of your external audience. Using many of the same questions
used in the first benchmark session, you’ll now be watching
very carefully for signs that your communications tactics have
worked and that the negative perception is being altered in your
direction.

If impatience rears its head, you can always accelerate things
with a broader selection of communications tactics AND increased frequencies.

Obviously, this will convert bad PR into good PR by doing
something positive about the behaviors of those important
outside audiences of yours that most affect your operation.
It will do the job by creating external stakeholder behavior
change leading directly to achieving your managerial
objectives. And it will pull this off by persuading those key
outside folks to your way of thinking, thus moving them to
take actions that allow your business, non-profit or association
to succeed.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would be appreciated at [email protected].
Word count is 1100 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. Visit his website here.

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Tags: bad PR, protect yourself from bad PR, PR, public relations