by G.A. "Andy" Marken, Marken Communications

It's all about delivering value

Over the years, hundreds of highly respected professionals and educators have developed comprehensive and often complicated descriptions of what makes for effective corporate communications. There have been heated discussions regarding the separation of public relations from advertising, public relations from marketing, and the very role public relations should play within the organization.

What has been most counter-productive is the PR division's desire to distance itself from the distasteful task of actually "selling" the company, its propositions, its products, its technologies and its services. If PR doesn't help perpetuate the company, just what value does it serve?

I recently read one of the clearest, most concise and understandable definitions of public relations. It stripped away all of the rhetoric and all of the lofty philosophy: "Effective public relations is simply applied common sense."

Common sense says that a company must achieve sales and must produce profit if it is to survive. Done properly, public relations adds value to a company by helping it better employ people, provide a return to shareholders, and deliver product/service value to customers.

Common sense says that for company programs to be successful they must be founded on business objectives, not "PR" objectives. They must focus on the company's brand equity, not on individual products. This branding activity must extend beyond media relations, charitable giving, legislative relations and other niches.

Accomplishing all of this is no easy task. It means that the firm's public relations activities -- internal and external -- have to understand and be involved in building and promoting the company's brand franchise. Some people like to refer to this process as integrated marketing communications (IMC). I prefer not to apply some self-limiting label, but rather to think of it as doing what is necessary to ensure the company survives and prospers.

It requires the company to have a public relations team that is involved in building trust with all of the firm's buyers and sellers. Public relations professionals can't simply go to senior management, plead their case and get a mandate to be responsible for representing the company's total activities. That just won't happen.

They need to start slow and take small steps. Public relations is a service and support function, not a policy direction activity. PR people need to advise and assist in branding activities online and offline. They need to become involved in assisting purchasing, HR, sales activities, face-to-face encounter training, trade show activities, Web activities including customer service/customer support, and other efforts that involve the company's brand franchise and the organization's bottom line results.

Too frequently PR people waste their efforts because they are so busy "practicing" public relations they forget their primary mission. All too often the success or failure of their "practice" is weighed by the pound: how many print, audio and video clips, and how many Web site mentions/hits. Since they weigh more, too many PR people rationalize that fifty media scores that don't further the company's goals are worth more than five that support and extend the company's brand franchise.

Wrong!

Effective public relations is much like a three-legged stool: a) understanding the company's anchor value, b) understanding the customer value propositions, and c) understanding the marketplace positioning of the products or services. Understanding the three legs will help the company better benefit from sales, profits and other long-term returns.

Anchor Values

The company's anchor values should control and guide every strategic and tactical PR activity. From the day it opens its doors, every firm is based on specific purposeful and fundamental values that highlight the company's strategic ambition, direction and plan for the future.

Without a good understanding of these values, it is impossible for public relations to honestly and effectively deliver for the company. Without a clear understanding of what the company is trying to achieve, public relations simply goes through the motions. But by being on the same wavelength, PR and management can ensure the right basic message is always delivered, that it is delivered to and through the right channels, and that it achieves the desired impact and objective.

Customer Values

The second leg of a sound PR program is to clearly understand what the anchor values mean to the consuming public. This means you have to translate the company's values into general and product/service-specific customer values and benefits.