Wednesday, August 21, 2013

All Business Owners Should Do A Public Relations Evaluation

By Tara Daniels


All businesses need clients to survive. No company can exist as an entity on its own. The nature of trade is one that goes both ways, from buyer to seller. Thus the relationship a business has with people in general is very important and doing a public relations evaluation is crucial from time to time.

Public relations involves all the communication that occurs between a company and its past, present and potential future customers. It is about the image that is presented to the people, how they see you and relate to you as a brand. If this image is good, business is bound to be good as well.

Unfortunately, too many businessmen place little importance on this section of the corporate world. They spend little time or money thinking about it and have never done a public relations evaluation. Business goes on, and there is no feedback to give them useful guidance.

Many companies do not actually hire a public relations officer. The role of this person is crucial in establishing and maintaining healthy communication with the media. If he or she is not a permanent employee, they should be outsourced on a freelance basis. Their job will include social networking via the Internet, posting regular blogs, press releases, sending out emails or newsletters to clients and even staff members.

Once a healthy relationship has been established with consumers, they will trust your brand over others. Research shows that people like familiarity. Once they know a product or company name, and once they have a good relationship with them, they will return. They will also refer your business to friends and family. Never underestimate the power of word of mouth. A booming enterprise is one with a good marketing team behind it.

The public relations evaluation is something that should be done as often as every two or three months. It will include things like going through emails, calls or letters from customers. Any complaints or compliments via online forums, social messaging or other means should be taken very seriously. All correspondence that took place between the business and its clients must be evaluated thoroughly.

This process should also include a close look at employee relationships. A healthy relationship with the staff team will have positive results. But if there are serious problems they need to be addressed and resolved. This can be done with staff meetings or relationship building weekend retreats.

Whether big or small, all businesses should invest in a PRO and hold a regular public relations evaluation during the course of the financial year. Ignoring something like this will mean perpetuating serious problems and repetition of the same mistakes. If consumers are unhappy about something, it is crucial for the company owners to know about it to prevent bad publicity. A small amount of bad publicity can mean a loss of thousands or even millions. Embarking upon this procedure can direct owners to their strong areas and show them what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. The overall results will be invaluable.




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