The familiar maxim, ‘Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden’, is often used to advise that it is sometimes better to say nothing. A similar saying in our local language goes ‘Ahwenepa Nkasa’, which literally means precious beads do not rattle or make noise.
When it comes to Public Relations, some organisations may opt for silence when they have the ‘precious beads-good products, good service and great return on investments’. They may think that Public Relations is only needed when the organisation hits rock bottom, looking for an emergency exit from a crisis.
Far from that: Public Relations is needed both in good times and in bad times. Thus, silence is never golden when your organisation has that good product or service. Don’t conclude that these ‘precious beads’ will be noticed even without the ‘noise’.
For one thing, many good products and services abound in this time when creativity and innovation drive production. The only way good products do not sink into the plethora of great products is when noise is made – a healthy noise that builds relationships and mutual benefit for your organisation and its publics.
This is where Public Relations comes in. So, the question is: what is Public Relations and why does an organisation need PR even before a crisis occurs?
Public Relations is a strategic communications process that aims to manage relationships with stakeholders to maintain goodwill between the organisation and its publics. Public Relations ultimately build mutually beneficial relationships and protect the company’s image.
The beautiful aspect of Public Relations is its growth from just being an avenue of publicity to being an indispensable tool for mutual satisfaction, whereby organisations and their publics adapt complementary changes or compromises for mutual benefit.
Despite many benefits offered by the field to businesses and communities, most people do not see the role of Public Relations in these areas. Let’s explore why PR benefits your organisation even before a catastrophe erupts.
PR builds brand credibility and promotes brand values
Imagine a parent who always told other parents of his child’s lactose-intolerance whenever dropping his son off at their house. Then one day a carton of milk gets missing from one of the parents’ homes. Investigations then reveal that a group of children who had a sleep-over at the house stole the milk. In this case, that son is being accused of being one of the children who stole the milk. But then the parent involved defends the child, stating that the son of his parent-friend does not drink milk and could not have been part.
This scenario illustrates the power of Public Relations in communicating a consistent brand message to one’s audience. Through Public Relations, brands communicate positive messages to their audiences, making consumers or customers more comfortable in engaging with the brand. The short of it is that Public Relations instil and restore public confidence in your brand.
Like the scenario cited above, a consistent brand message gains the trust of your customers and they will ‘defend’ you when another source spreads a message that is inconsistent with your brand.
Generating new leads for your brand
Businesses exist to make profit, and Public Relations contribute to that. To make profit, businesses search out the customer-base that hasn’t been captured. The truth, however, is that it can be irritating for customers when brands use intrusive lead-generation strategies such as telemarketing rather than organically generating leads.
PR, however, reaches out to your target audience without being at their faces in an intimidating way. The PR profession leverages great content and relationships in attracting customers to the brand. Thus there is an intentionality in storytelling, crafting editorial content and press releases, and placing content in the media which leads potential customers to consider the brand’s good products or services.
When these customers upgrade from being potentials to actually experiencing your service or using the products, they also become agents of spreading the good news through their reviews, testimonials and endorsements.
Reputation Management
When it comes to building and maintaining a positive brand image, Public Relations becomes a business investment that will eventually pay off. As it is often said, a healthy reputation is an intangible asset that needs to be managed and safeguarded against any threats. Public Relations plays a critical role in building a good reputation for an organisation by maintaining relationships with stakeholders and the media. Also, securing valuable media coverage and placements for the organisation influences public perception of the organisation.
Becoming a recognised leader in Your Field
One thing Public Relations surely does is to position an organisation as a thought-leader in its space. When your organisation has good products and services, people will want to know what you are doing differently from competitors. PR ensures that an avenue is created to show the world you know what you are about. This is why the PR team will secure speaking opportunities and compel the CEO or senior management team to draft thought-leadership articles in the industry. This tactic no doubt positions the organisation as an authority in its field.
Did you notice that all the strategic PR processes mentioned did not need a crisis as a catalyst? All these processes are utilised when an organisation has ‘good beads’ to rattle.
So, don’t wait to get into a crisis to call the Public Relations Manager or Agency. Get to it now!
>>>the writer is a PR Account Executive at Global Media Alliance
