By Beth Diamond (Communication World: April-May 1997)

Integrating the PR Fundamentals

What can we bring to the process of communicating the financial facts of our organization? We bring the fundamental principles of clear and timely communication planning and execution to the table - the same principles we bring daily to our jobs in public affairs or corporate communication.

We can use these principles to research, develop and articulate a comprehensive investor relations plan, and to craft the individual components of the plan - the ubiquitous annual report, the media relations, the interim reports, the multi-media road shows, the speeches and other IR tools.

As corporate communicators, we need to understand the basics of financial information so we can return to our communication departments (or at least switch to our communication hats) and translate that information in a manner that is relevant to the employee, the supplier or the joint venture partner. As communicators, we can help ensure that the company we work for communicates, rather than simply reports, its financial performance and plans. We can bring long-term strategic communication into the regulatory environment of the CFO.

We can broaden the audiences requiring financial information to include other stakeholders such as employees, customers and suppliers, and we can hone our own skills to tailor that financial information to the needs of a wider audience.

We can use our knowledge of a company's strategic plan, it's vision and mission to formulate key messages that can be assimilated into the investor relations materials.

Let's discuss how.

For those who learned traditional public affairs practice the way I did - you can incorporate the RACE formula (Research, Analysis, Communication and Evaluation) - the same formula that drives your product and brand launches, your internal roll-outs, and your marketing communication to the CFO or investor relations department.

Do Your Homework

As professional communicators, we are trained to conduct market surveys, internal audits and focus groups. We analyze various audiences in great detail, we find out what they know, how they know it and what else they want to know. We make certain that we understand what our key stakeholders think about us before we communicate with them. We determine what they perceive to be our strengths and weaknesses. In short, we do our homework first. As communicators, we help the CFO deal with his or her main audience - the investment community and shareholders - in the same way, using the same tools.

I'm not talking about a sophisticated IR department that may exist in a large company. I'm referring to the type of company where the CFO and IR contact are the same person, or where the president is the main IR contact on a day-to-day basis. In these situations, we can help define the audience by bringing our research skills to define audience concerns for a corporate product or brand launch or an internal publication.

When we develop an investor relations plan at my agency, we begin with an investor relations audit. We ask key analysts, brokers, shareholders and others about a dozen key questions including: What are the company's strengths as an investment? What concerns you about this company? What information do you require to recommend or continue to support this company?

When we develop an investor relations plan at my agency, we begin with an investor relations audit. We ask key analysts, brokers, shareholders and others about a dozen key questions including: What are the company's strengths as an investment? What concerns you about this company? What information do you require to recommend or continue to support this company?

The answers usually reveal genuine gaps between what management tells us "everyone" knows about the company and the market's perception. Investors want to see a corporate strategy; they want to know that a strong management team is driving the train, they want to see this year's performance measured against last year's objectives. Companies often believe that they are doing an exemplary job at communicating all three. However, a well-crafted and executed communication audit will confirm if a gap exists between a company's perception of itself and the reality of the marketplace.

As a communicator, you can easily develop and administer this type of audit for your organization's stakeholders. You can also use a number of other shareholder tracking mechanisms to more clearly define who holds your company's shares. You can then communicate each stakeholder's needs to the CFO or IRM in your organization.

Developing the Key Messages

Once the research is done, corporate communicators can play a key role in analyzing the responses and incorporating stakeholders' needs into key messages that support an overall communication strategy. You can help the IR person analyze the research results in terms of developing key messages to be delivered, information gaps to be closed and correcting misperceptions to each stakeholder.

And, of course, as communicators, we can build investor relations communication plans with defined timelines, budgets and tools. We can use our expertise, creativity and experience to broaden the range of tools investor relations people use, and suggest how to implement those tools effectively and efficiently.