 POLITICS
TEACHES PR LESSONS By
Jenny Fujita and Joy K. Miura, Fujita & Miura Public Relations
Even if your business is skyrocketing, ongoing public relations (PR) is critical
to maintaining a high level of success. During this exciting political season,
businesses can learn a lot about the benefits of ongoing PR by observing political
campaigns. Candidates
who won spots in the upcoming General Election aren't sitting back and waiting
for November 5th to come. They're working hard to earn their votes, just like
we have to earn business from our customers. How? By maintaining alliances, communicating
proactively, and managing budgets. Politicians
know that allies are their most important constituents. That sounds obvious, but
many businesses take their allies for granted and assume that they'll always be
there. Or, they get distracted with trying to win over non-supporters. Nurturing
relationships with current allies helps ensure that the foundation of support
you've toiled for remains intact. Allies are your strongest supporters and promote
your business to others by word-of-mouth. They are the most credible advocates
any organization can have because people trust "real" people much more
than they trust advertisements or the media. Proactively
communicating with your publics is another factor in sustaining your hard-earned
business. Businesses can follow the example of political candidates by including
their contact information on all collateral materials, reminding the public about
promises made and kept, repeating key messages, and informing them about anything
new. Businesses that practice proactive communication are more likely to be perceived
as trustworthy, approachable, and friendly, partially because they enjoy name
recognition. Budget
management is often overlooked as being essential to the PR process. Because political
spending is such a hot topic on campaign trails these days, candidates know that
it pays to closely monitor their budgets, and to spend appropriately. Once
a PR campaign ends, many businesses assume that PR-related expenditures can also
stop. Depending on the size of your target audience and scope of your outreach
efforts, you may need to set aside a standard budget for ongoing PR. Keeping accurate
finances not only helps businesses stay out of trouble and within budget, but
also provides a way to measure the effectiveness of their PR efforts. |
