December 2009: Five Easy Pieces
To Company CEOs:
Saying you’re in PR right now is something like saying you’re in team-building or some other indefinable job category. The PR lay-offs and PR budget-cutting are reaching severe proportions. So Mr./Ms. CEO, when the accountants and lawyers say you don’t need PR anymore and proudly boast that the company is now saving X number of dollars without that department or consultant, this is just not so. Doing business without a strong PR program is a gamble. Okay, the economy is really scary right now, but the PR team positively impacts the bottom line, if allowed to do so. Not like the accountants with a red pencil, or the lawyers with fear-peddling. They have their jobs to do, but so do PR professionals. The PR people always work out win-win strategies that are pure investments in your long-term success. Here’s how to maximize your PR team’s assets:
1. Inform your PR team of the company’s financial situation. I’ve never seen a PR person fail to see the bright side in an economic downturn, a crisis situation or a paradigm shift. With accurate, up-to-date fiscal information, distinguishing the profit centers and the cost centers, PR people can go to work in the marketplace positioning you as the best provider of your products and services.
2. Pay attention to the PR team’s diagnosis. Okay, as hard as it may be when you can’t meet payroll, the creditors are calling and your industry is going to China, your PR team is going to present some ideas to you that may be counter-intuitive in a belt-tightening economy. For instance, let’s say your arch-competitor is having more problems than your company, and your PR team recommends that you lend a helping hand. And whatever kind of helping hand that is, your PR team arranges television, print and on-line to be there to witness it. Need I say more?
3. Don’t Go Underground. When times are hard, one of our natural inclinations is to isolate. No more Chamber functions, no more charity sponsorships, and no more company Christmas party. Bad, bad, bad ideas. Allow the PR team to develop a pared-down networking budget. Fewer events perhaps, but more executive attendance, more mining for prospects, more “smart” growth. And reaching out to your employees with social gatherings and other “you are important to us” activities will lower the fear factor exponentially. Your employees talk and you want the talk in the community to be “this is the best place to work. They care about us.” Thank you Sam Walton.
4. Over-Communicate. Okay, so you think direct mail is out-of-the-box, let alone blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, et al. Time to get over it and allow your PR team to get in high gear telling the world, one niche at a time, how amazing your company is and how you are willing to share information that you never thought you would……it’s a whole new world, it’s about doing well by doing good. It’s the principal of reciprocity, and it works.
5. Get Involved in the PR World. Your PR team belongs to various professional organizations and there’s no better way to build your brand than to show your support for the team—volunteer to speak at a PRSA luncheon, sponsor a PR Day or an awards banquet. Develop a reputation for being a company with a PR culture—one of reaching out, helping others, seeking the truth and being part of something bigger than your own company. It will be a great recruitment tool, it will build your PR equity for the hard times and you will be the envy of CEOs everywhere.
Thanks for visiting my blog, Marlene
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Dear blogger: I want to share with you the importance of being the best you can at whatever you do. It’s about your personal PR which will lead to your ultimate job security plan.
#1. Develop a spirit of excellence. Whatever you put your hand to, do it with excellence. Whether it’s writing a brochure, or shooting a television commercial or working with the media, slow down, focus on one thing at a time, ask questions when you don’t know the answers and have a teachable spirit.
#2. Develop a spirit of patience. Whether it’s at home, work , in trafffic, at church, wherever, frustrations abound. But keep in mind: you’re a leader, not a ruler. Always be 15 minutes early for work everyday. That will get your day started off ahead of the game, rather than behind. Always stay 15 minutes late to prepare your office, tools, paperwork, to do list, so you can start your next day with confidence and professionalism, not panic and impatience.
#3. Develop a spirit of trustworthiness. This is a good time for me to mention peer pressure; there will be some of your-co-workers who wouldn’t dream of coming in early and leaving late. Don’t be affected by their habits and their desire to mock you. You’ll be the one who gets the raises and the promotions. And never commiserate with other employees–bad-mouthing your boss and co-workers. The office rumor-monger will try to draw you into gossip so they can undermine you to the boss.
#4. Develop a spirit of adventure. Did you know that the best invention hasn’t been invented yet? The best PR campaign hasn’t been developed yet? The best computer application hasn’t been written yet? Think outside the box during your career, share with your boss how it can be done better, faster, and less expensively.
#5. Develop a spirit of compassion. There are wounded and hurting people surrounding you every day. Don’t look the other way–lend a helping hand to wipe away a tear, to buy a cup of coffee, to help with a looming deadline.
Mother Theresa once shared that every night as she lay on her bed she would look at her hands and ask: “Where have you been today? What did you do? Who did you help?” How would you answer that question tonight?
Thanks for visiting my blog, Marlene
To respond to my blog, please go to:
Marlene's Blog on Wordpress.com |
