Interestingly, what you’ve done, is combine a sound public relations strategy with effective communications tactics leading directly to the bottom line – perception altered, behavior modified, employer/client satisfied.

But of course it’s not automatic!

Instead, the mother of all PR plans is required. A plan that will get each of their team members and organizational colleagues working towards the same external stakeholder behaviors.

Here is such a plan designed to keep a manager’s public relations effort “on message:” people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is usually accomplished.

Again interestingly, results can begin appearing quite early in this process. For instance, capital givers or specifying sources looking your way; prospects starting to work with you; customers making repeat purchases; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; a rebound in showroom visits; membership applications on the rise; new thoughtleader and special event contacts; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; fresh community service and sponsorship opportunities; and even stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities.

The extent to which you use your PR staff will bear heavily on your success as a manager. Will you use your regular public relations staff? People assigned to you from above ? Or will it be PR agency staff? Nevertheless, they must be committed to you as the senior project manager, and to the PR blueprint starting with key audience perception monitoring.

Here, invest some real time satisfying yourself that team members really believe that it’s crucially important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Be certain they buy the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Reviewing the PR blueprint with staff is a good idea. In particular your plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Professional survey counsel is always available to you, albeit expensive, for the perception monitoring phases of your program. But remember that your PR people are also in the perception and behavior business and can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

The most serious distortions you discovered during your key audience perception monitoring require that you do something about them.This will be your new public relations goal might calling for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or stopping that potentially fatal rumor.

Any hope for success in achieving your new PR goal will demand a solid strategy backing up that new goal. One that clearly indicates to you and the PR staff how to proceed. But remember that there are just three strategic options available to you when it comes to handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like liver-stuffed ravioli. So, be certain the new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. It goes without saying that you don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a reinforce” strategy.