WebProWorld Marketing Forum |
Evil & Confusion From Microsoft?
Michael sees a lot of confusion and mixed messages coming out of Redmond lately. Particularly with IE and Longhorn, but also concerning DRM and Xbox. I wish teams could talk about our plans in all these areas...
Does cold calling still work?
Yes, if you're careful of the fine line between being a welcomed addition to a customer's day, or an intrusion. An article by Kevin Stirtz posted on the Better Local Marketing blog addresses the issue of cold calling, because there are underlying truths in that it works.
Daisy Duke Needs a Blogger
While a lot of the blogosphere debates the nature of marketing, public relations and blogging - particularly the PR bloggers - here comes an ingenious campaign that melds marketing and blogging, and is fully transparent (you know, the big requirement in blogging that not enough corporations get).
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Articles |
A Conversation with Steve Rubel, Micro Persuasion
Steve is Vice President Client Solutions at CooperKatz, a New York PR firm, and author of the Micro Persuasion blog. He is arguably the most prominent and influential blogger in the PR profession either side of the Atlantic.
Creating a Winning Staff Team
As a business owner, I've had staff come and go over the years: some have done extremely well, and others not so well.
Which PR? Judge for Yourself
You are a senior business, non-profit or association manager. So, chances are you call the shots for your department, division or subsidiary.
How Managers Can Help Retain Their Best Employees
A major problem for employers today is attracting the best talent, and then retaining key employees. Research shows that the key ingredient for retention lies within the manager's ability to understand what employees really want.
Can
Coporates Blog?
When it comes to the blogosphere, companies can be damned if they do and damned
if they don't, so what's the answer? For some time, weblogs were seen as the online equivalent of standing on the street corner and shouting incoherently.
Dr.
Phil vs. the Soviet Union
Lucy Kellaway wrote a terrific piece on CEO blogging for the Financial Times.
Her thesis is that the key point about executive blogs is risk.
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04.04.05
How PR Makes A Manager's
Life Easier
 By
Robert A. Kelly
Things are pleasant for many business, non-profit or association managers when
their public relations people deliver newspaper and talk show mentions, informative
brochures and videos, and special events that attract a lot of people.
But things could be much more pleasant for those managers if their PR teams were
to deliver the kind of behavior change among their key outside audiences that
leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives. And, by so doing, persuade
their most important outside audiences to their way of thinking, moving those
folks to take actions that help the managers' department, division or subsidiary
succeed.
Put another way, the question managers really face is this: are you simply looking
for publicity, or a way to do something positive about the behaviors of those
external audiences of yours that MOST affect your organization?
Before you answer that, here are two realities you might want to keep in mind:
1) the right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors
that help you succeed, and 2), your public relations effort must involve more
than good times, booklets and press releases if you really want to get your money's
worth.
For example, people really do 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.
There's no end to the results that recipe can generate: 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
Once this approach takes hold, you could even 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.
That's a fair amount of results from even a high-impact blueprint like this one.
Which means your PR crew - agency or staff - must be committed to you, as the
senior project manager, and to your PR blueprint starting with target audience
perception monitoring.
We can agree that it's crucially important that your most important outside audiences
really perceive your operations, products or services in a positive light. So
assure yourself that your PR staff buys this approach. And be especially careful
that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors
that can help or hurt your unit.
Go over the blueprint with the whole PR group, especially the plan for monitoring
and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside
audiences. Questions along these lines: 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?
If there's enough money in the bank, you can probably afford professional survey
people to handle the perception monitoring phases of your program. If not, always
remember 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 behaviors you won't like one little bit.
Now you'll need a public relations goal, one that speaks to the aberrations that
showed up during your key audience perception monitoring. In all likelihood, it
will call for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that
gross inaccuracy, or doing something about that ugly rumor.
As day follows night, you'll now need a strategy that shows you how to reach your
new goal. You have three strategic choices when it comes to handling perception
or opinion challenges: create perception where there may be none, change the perception,
or reinforce it. As always, a bad strategy pick will taste like flapjack syrup
on your swordfish, 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.
As you might expect, persuading an audience to your way of thinking is just plain
hard work, so your PR team must come up with some darn effective language. Words
that correct the original aberation and, at the same time, are compelling, persuasive
and believable AND clear and factual. You have little choice if you are to correct
a perception by attracting opinion to your point of view, leading to the desired
behaviors.
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Working with your communications specialists, review your final draft message
for impact and persuasiveness. Only then can you select the communications tactics
most likely to carry your words to the attention of your target audience. 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. But be sure that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks
just like your audience members.
Occasionally, the credibility of a message can depend on how it's delivered. So,
on the chance that may be true, you might want to introduce it to smaller groups
rather than using higher-profile tactics such as news releases or talk show appearances.
Calls for a progress report will prompt you and your PR folks to consider returning
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 alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in
your direction.
If you feel the need to move things along at a faster clip, you can always accelerate
the effort with more communications tactics and increased frequencies.
Truth is, "happy times are always here again" for the manager who achieves the
kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving his or
her department, division or subsidiary objectives.
About the Author:
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. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR,
Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications,
U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White
House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in
public relations. bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com
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