p>If you're a business, non-profit or association manager, and you're serious about wringing every last benefit out of your public relations budget, here, for starters, are two suggestions: list those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that help or hinder you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by impact severity. And let's address the target audience you decide is number onCan your PR do something positive about the behaviors of those outside audiences that most affect your business, non-profit or association?

Can your PR deliver external stakeholder behavior change -- the kind that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives?

Can your PR persuade those important outside folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary succeed?

Or does the money you spend on public relations pretty much buy personnel mentions in the newspaper and product plugs on radio talk shows?

If you want the real thing - the public relations performance described above - start with this reality: 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 accomplished.

First, look at the results that could come your way. Capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects interested in doing business with you; membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; welcome bounces in show room visits; higher employee retention rates, and even community leaders beginning to seek you out.

If you're a business, non-profit or association manager, and you're serious about wringing every last benefit out of your public relations budget, here, for starters, are two suggestions: list those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that help or hinder you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by impact severity. And let's address the target audience you decide is number one

department, division or subsidiary succeed?

Or does the money you spend on public relations pretty much buy personnel mentions in the newspaper and product plugs on radio talk shows?

If you want the real thing - the public relations performance described above - start with this reality: 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 accomplished.

First, look at the results that could come your way. Capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects interested in doing business with you; membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; welcome bounces in show room visits; higher employee retention rates, and even community leaders beginning to seek you out.

If you're a business, non-profit or association manager, and you're serious about wringing every last benefit out of your public relations budget, here, for starters, are two suggestions: list those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that help or hinder you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by impact severity. And let's address the target audience you decide is number on

ich 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 accomplished.

First, look at the results that could come your way. Capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects interested in doing business with you; membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; welcome bounces in show room visits; higher employee retention rates, and even community leaders beginning to seek you out.

If you're a business, non-profit or association manager, and you're serious about wringing every last benefit out of your public relations budget, here, for starters, are two suggestions: list those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that help or hinder you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by impact severity. And let's address the target audience you decide is number on

and joint ventures; prospects interested in doing business with you; membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; welcome bounces in show room visits; higher employee retention rates, and even community leaders beginning to seek you out.

If you're a business, non-profit or association manager, and you're serious about wringing every last benefit out of your public relations budget, here, for starters, are two suggestions: list those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that help or hinder you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by impact severity. And let's address the target audience you decide is number on

p>If you're a business, non-profit or association manager, and you're serious about wringing every last benefit out of your public relations budget, here, for starters, are two suggestions: list those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that help or hinder you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by impact severity. And let's address the target audience you decide is number one.

In all likelihood, you haven't gathered data that tells you what most members of that key outside audience think about your organization. However, you would have these data if you had been regularly sampling those perceptions.

But now, in the absence of a large professional survey budget, you and your colleagues will have to monitor those perceptions yourselves. Meet with members of that outside audience and interact by asking questions like "Have you ever met anyone from our organization? Was it a satisfactory experience? How much do you know about our services or products?" Watch carefully for negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant replies. And stay alert for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions, inaccuracies and potentially damaging rumors. You'll need to correct any that you discover because experience shows they usually lead to negative behaviors.

After correcting such aberrations before they morph into hurtful behaviors, you now select the specific perception to be altered, and that becomes your public relations goal.

As luck would have it, a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, is like pasta without the meat sauce. That's why you must select one of three strategies especially designed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change existing perception, or reinforce it. And take care that your new goal and the new strategy match each other. After all, you wouldn't want to select "change existing perception" when current perception is just right suggesting a "reinforce" strategy.

Now here's where