PUBLIC RELATIONS & MARKETING

Planning PR and Marketing programs - Think Strategically

With the rapid pace of change and the frantic growth of new communication technologies, it is time, once again, to realize the importance of slowing down to think about what works - to think strategically when preparing an organizational communication program.

• It is time for organizations to get back to basics
• It is time for developing simple strategies and sticking to them
• It is time to remember what is known about how to change minds and behaviors
• It is time to stop doing what everyone else does and do what gets results!

About 17 years ago I opened my own business to specialize in face-to-face communication. I decided to stop doing many of the commonly used forms of mass communication. Why? My work in public relations with three global corporations and a state government agency had convinced me that it was my relationship-building techniques and face-to-face communication activities that were getting the desired results - and quickly. I was able to solve many problems and crisis situations using personal communication techniques. I named my company Face to Face Matters.

To me the term PR should mean Personal Relationships if it is to be fully effective.

There is ample evidence of the frequent failure of mass, impersonal communication. Mass communication fails because it is not really communication. It is merely "sending messages," a one-way process. True communication is two-way, allowing a message receiver to give feedback. Mass communication does have a role in organizational communication. That role is to support and reinforce what works: face-to-face communication and word-of-mouth that starts with opinion leaders.

There is abundant evidence demonstrating the significance of word-of-mouth and the success of face-to-face communication.

Let me share just one example. A few years ago I helped a natural gas pipeline company in Michigan build trust with a fearful public and quickly resolved a problem of vocal opposition to startup of a new pipeline. Natural gas produced from wells in the area includes hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous gas. Some residents feared a pipeline leak would endanger them.

The public was unaware that the company's pipeline safety design features far exceeded legal requirements for protection. Nor were they aware of extensive emergency response plans in case of a leak. The company and the public were not listening to each other.

A face-to-face program was begun to build trust with leaders of the most vocal opposition group. (Advance preparation included training the company staff to listen and to talk to people using brief key messages and less detail.) Within two weeks of talking and listening to each other, the activist group reversed its opposition tactics and talked about the company with respect, demonstrating the power of personalized communications.

The general manager of the Denver company said, "This program showed me we must do more than build pipelines. We also have to build relationships."

Strategy: Use behavioral science research for program planning

Few people are aware of the thousands of diffusion studies that describe how people behave in adopting new ideas. For the most part people do not change because of something they read, hear on the radio or see on television. They change because someone they know and trust says it's a good idea. Mass media is impersonal and creates only awareness and knowledge. Personal interaction and dialogue go beyond awareness and actually cause people to change their ideas and behaviors.

Regrettably, while these studies have been around for nearly six decades, they are known to relatively few organizational leaders - or even to most public relations professionals. Those who are knowledgeable the diffusion process use what has been learned from behavioral research studies to develop communication strategies that get results.

What we know from diffusion studies around the world is compelling. Whether seeking to get farmers to use hybrid agricultural products, or school superintendents to use educational innovations, or doctors to use new wonder drugs, or third world villagers to use birth control devices, publicity doesn't get the job done. What works is word-of-mouth.

More specifically, it is word-of-mouth that begins with influentials in a group. A little more than 10 percent of any group are opinion leaders who influence two-thirds of the rest of the group to believe and act as they do. When you identify and build relationships with opinion leaders, these leaders who are trusted and believed deliver your messages for you.

Two examples of the diffusion process in action

A school superintendent in Oklahoma talks to two opinion leaders on his staff when he wants information and opinions from employees. He says what he is thinking to a specific custodian and teacher. The word gets out quickly. Soon his phone begins to ring with staff people telling him what they think about what they have been hearing.

Using opinion leaders can cause remarkable change in an organization. One company wanted to reduce its healthcare costs, the fastest increasing cost of doing business. Employees paid nothing for their healthcare benefits. The company was turned down flat when it asked its union to agree to have employees pay a small percent of the cost.

A strategy using opinion leaders was created. About 25 union and non-union employees were invited to participate in meetings to talk about corporate issues. A year later, the union volunteered to have its members pay a portion of healthcare costs. That's a good example of the power of opinion leaders to create change within a group.

Another little known change process

Behavioral scientists and consultants have a rich history, not widely known, of successful interventions to change entire organizations relatively quickly. The process involves face-to-face communication working with large groups. In today's high-speed world, leaders in organizations need results now, not six months from now.

Meaningful change comes from getting people throughout the organization (or community) involved in identifying problems, then creating action plans that will get the desired results. Involvement creates commitment. Organizations that have used this approach include Ford, Boeing, Corning, Chrysler, Marriott, EDS, plus schools and government.

» Contact Jack Pyle for information.

Face to Face Matters, Inc. 1560 Little Lake Drive #16 Ann Arbor, MI 48103 517-243-3223