Why Public Relations?

You may be asking yourself why your business should take a public relations approach to getting business or doing business.

But that is not the question you have to decide.

You can choose to be pro-active and communicate your message to customers, potential customers and those who influence them.

You can choose not to become stuck with the labels which competitors, doomsayers and the misinformed seek to apply to your business.

You can choose to focus rather than leave to its own devices the powerful marketing mechanism we loosely refer to as word-of-mouth advertising.

Or you can choose to keep a low profile. It won’t do much for building your business, however, that’s your choice.

But if you take that road, don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re choosing not to have public relations.

You don't have a choice

You see, you don’t have that choice.

Even with a low profile, you will still have public relations.

Those you do business with will still have a perception of you.

And those who don’t do business with you will also have a perception.

Yes, even though people have not had any contact with you or direct experience of your business, they will still have a perception of it. Lack of knowledge or information never stopped anyone holding a view.

The real question you need to ask is: Are those perceptions helping (or hindering) you towards achieving your objectives?

Even public relations has public relations. I won’t go into the industry’s “in” jokes here, except to acknowledge that you will most likely have your own ideas about what PR is and how relevant it is to your organisation (I know I did before I got into the business in 1990).

Public relations is not just for self-conscious corporations or glad-handing politicians (in case you think it is).

PR is for ordinary individuals, small-medium businesses, and not-for-profits too.

Whether you’re on a job hunt, bucking for an in-house promotion, publicising a fund-raising effort for a church, advancing a cause or righting a wrong — you’re using public relations.

And if you’re in business, you also have a case to make or a point-of-view which you want others to appreciate, if not adopt.

The art of relating to your particular public and influencing their perceptions is both a social skill and a business necessity.

Perceptions play a significant role in purchase decisions by both individuals and businesses. They may be correct and fully justified, or they may be wrong or unsubstantiated. That’s not the point.

The point is that your best efforts in several areas can count for nothing if you do not manage perceptions and their impact on your business.

Sales, company share price, not-for-profit membership, staff turnover, recruitment, community support, and policymakers’ decisions are all influenced by perceptions.

Perceptions can be managed

The good news is that like any other key area of business, perceptions can be defined, measured and managed. Shattock Communications & Research Ltd provides specialist expertise and services to help you do that.

We are not owned by a marketing company, nor are we part of an advertising agency, so we don’t come with any of that baggage.

Perception research, marketing communication and public relations is all we do.

Call me (John Shattock) on +64-9-426 6664 to discuss how I can help you with public relations.