Do You Really Care What People Think?

You had better care! Because what people think usually leads to predictable behaviors that can really affect your business, non-profit or association for better or worse.

Look at your employees. If they believe you really don't care about them, your organization's productivity can take a nose dive.

And what about customers? They had better remain convinced of the value of your products and services or off they go to a competitor.

Even prospects constantly need to be made aware of your product and service values or you'll never get them as customers in the first place.

And seriously caring what key groups of people think about your organization doesn't stop there.

You'll have trouble hiring and keeping employees if area residents don't see your organization as a good place to work.

Same with minorities if, true or false, the idea takes hold that you discriminate in your hiring practices.

And don't forget the need to be above board with journalists covering your operation. A suspicious reporter can create what you'll certainly view as "bad press."

While we've talked briefly about a half dozen of your key "publics," there are certainly others that need your attention.

That's why the care and feeding of your most important external audiences can easily turn into a full-time job when you stop and think about the impacts they can have on how successfully you achieve your objectives.

O.K., so you can't afford full-time public relations help, but is it hopeless?

Not at all because there are several actions you can and should take to address this challenge. It will require a chunk of time to implement, but isn't it worth it?

First, list the top five or six audiences that could keep you awake at night.

Clearly, the top priority is to stay aware of how they perceive your enterprise. And that translates into speaking regularly with members of each group ? members, customers, employees, area residents, reporters, prospects ? and LISTENING for any problem areas.

Of course, in your own best interests, you should be a regular speaker at area podiums and a willing interviewee when local or trade media want to ask you questions. By doing so, you "ventilate" matters and lessen the impact of future "bumps in the road" when they inevitably occur.

So, when problems ARE identified, corrective actions should be put in place. And when it's time to take those actions, you need a two-part strategy: one, a clear, truthful message written to persuade that audience and, two, effective communications that will actually reach that audience.

Communications tactics may range from media interviews, open houses, facility tours and plain, old meetings to promotional events and news releases.

It's important to track progress if you ever hope to know whether your efforts are changing minds. Most important, do you appear to have successfully addressed the problem areas that came up in your initial information gathering among those key audiences?

And that means more of the same ? personal meetings with members, customers, prospects, employees, area residents, reporters and other so-called "thought-leaders."

What people think is really key to the success of your organization because, like it or not, people act on their perception of the facts before them and that leads to certain behaviors. Because something can be done about those behaviors, this article outlines how you can address any problem areas BEFORE they negatively affect your business.

Remember, if you leave those problems unattended for very long, you may be trifling with your own survival. How much better to deal promptly and effectively with questionable perceptions and encourage behaviors that insure the success of your business.

end

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Net word count is 700 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

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 communi- cations, 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. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com

---

The Truth?

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never... Read More

Five Days to More Effective Inventory Management

The litany of headaches related to the implementation and on-going... Read More

Leadership in Troubled Times

Leadership in Troubled Times The... Read More

Leading Meetings: The Top Three Challenges

What do people really find challenging about leading meetings? Here... Read More

Cultural Differences: Making it Work Virtually

Working virtually adds a whole new dimension to the phrase... Read More

Small Business Checking Accounts

ACCOUNTING AND BILLINGCHECK BOOKSWe recommend that you maintain a business... Read More

Procrastination and JDI!

In a management role procrastination can seriously hold back progress... Read More

Presenteeism: The Hidden Costs of Business

(prez.un.TEE.iz.um) nPresenteeism, a relatively unknown concept, is the complement of... Read More

Prioritise Your Day - Keep Focus - Win!

Whether you run your own business or manage a team,... Read More

Dissenion Down On The Cubicle Farm

How content and satisfied are American employees? Not very!According to... Read More

Minimising Conflict With Effective Communication

Did you know there are 5 types of... Read More

Proven Secrets to Keeping Your People and Increasing Your Profits

Why are people changing jobs so quickly these days?Here are... Read More

Five Steps to Better Employee Management

Hiring employees is a huge responsibility. Before hiring anyone, be... Read More

7 Steps To Hire The Best

You can use this step-by-step method to hire applicants who... Read More

A Leadership Lesson: Two Guys With Guns

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters... Read More

Managing Group Meetings

MANAGING SMALL MEETINGS: Keep the size of the meeting as... Read More

Factoring Financing: How to Grow Your Business Without Debt or Loans

What is factoring?Accounts receivable financing, also known as factoring, is... Read More

The Do?s and Don?ts of Giving Feedback

Being able to give effective feedback is not just a... Read More

Project Heroes

Project heroes. We've all heard of them. Some of us... Read More

Employee Motivation: Make Everyone A Cheerleader For Your Company

Do you manage by walking around? What do you see?... Read More

Manage Your Business from the Rockies, not the Prairies

The day job as a manager is all about managing... Read More

Radical Creativity from Incremental Creativity ? large movements from small changes

Positive radical movement is the holy grail of nearly every... Read More

Creative People, Innovative People

The title implies that some people are and others not.This... Read More

The Significance of the Mundane

This article begins with a tip of the hat to... Read More

Knowledge Management - Creating a Sustainable Yellow Pages System

How can I "know who knows" None of us can... Read More

13 Comments on Bad Meetings

Bad meetings are a cultural malady that senior executives pass... Read More

Managing Workplace Conflicts

Kinds of Workplace ConflictsLet's start by identifying where conflicts happen.... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Dont Leave Your Key Stakeholders Guessing

Communicate! Don't leave you key stakeholders guessing.We are generally not... Read More

I Cant Use This Approach Unless My Boss Does - Power, Accountability, and Consequences

People who work with us often struggle with this dilemma:... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Improving Workplace Safety

This article relates to the Safety and Working Environment competency... Read More

Selecting Top Talent: Improve Your Batting Average

I recently gave a presentation to a group of business... Read More

Knowledge Management - Keys to Successful Communities of Practice (Networks)

How can I make my community of practice truly effective?How... Read More

Invite Self-Managed Staff

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to... Read More