If you build it, they will come. This abstract concept worked
for Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. His character, an Iowa
farmer, built his dream baseball field. Eventually, his vision
turned into reality as the players came, followed by an audience.
Hollywood makes it seem so easy! But if you want to attract
employees and customers to your new business, you must publicize
your field of dreams.
Trouble is, while you know that you must do more than fire up
the old computer and hang out a shingle, you're not exactly
sure what you should do. So you place an advertisement in
your favorite magazine. Or, in a marketing frenzy, you try to
promote your company on every level possible, which is as futile as
trying to boil the ocean. As a result, you spend a lot of money and
time, and garner very few results.
Owners of thriving ventures know that, just as they must start
with a good business plan to launch their businesses, they must
develop a solid public-relations plan to promote their
enterprises.
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If you have a good plan, and devote enough time and energy to
carrying out that plan, you will obtain a great deal of positive
publicity for your company--at very little cost.
What Is Public Relations?
Public relations--or PR--is, literally, the relationship your
company has with its public. Your public includes your current
customers, your future customers, and even potential customers.
Your employees, if you have any, are a part of your public, as are
your neighbors and the local press. All these people have an
interest in your company--in the prices it sets, and in the
products and services that it provides.
The relationship you create with these people will have a
profound effect on the future of your business. The function of PR
is to publicize your company to these people, and to create a
positive image of your business which will translate into sales
dollars. No one will know that your company exists if you don't
tell them, but you must tell them in a systematic, planned manner.
If you don't plan what you want to say, and how and when you
will say it, your public will be left to develop their own opinions
without any guidance from you.
It is important to remember that PR is not marketing, although
it can play a key role in marketing your products and services.
Defined literally, marketing is the use of pricing and distribution
to sell a product. Certain PR practices can aid the marketing
process, and as a new business owner, you can learn to use PR to
enhance your marketing plan.
Do I Really Need a Plan?
Imagine yourself in a car, beginning a long road trip. You want to
drive from New York City to Las Vegas. So you throw some clothes
together, point your van southwest, and head off. You don't
know how long the trip will take. You don't know what the
weather will be like along the way. You don't have a road
map.
You don't have a plan.
You may get there--eventually. But it will be much easier if you
first research what you want to accomplish, and plan how you will
achieve this feat.
Planning the publicity for your business is similar to planning
a trip. It may require a little extra time, initially, but it will
save you time--and money--in the long run. You may be successful
without the plan, but you have a much better chance of arriving in
Las Vegas if you have a map in the glove compartment and consult it
regularly during your journey.
Craig S. Rice, former president of Royal Crown Cola Ltd. Canada,
and author of Marketing Without a Marketing Budget, says
planning should be an ongoing part of your day-to-day business
operations. "When should you plan?" he asks. "All
the time. You should always be thinking about next steps, just as a
sports coach or combat commander is constantly evaluating
tactics."
All good planning begins with research. Consider your road trip:
In planning for this journey, you must first decide on your
objective (in this case, Las Vegas). You should then consult a map,
select the roads you would like to travel and the places you would
like to visit along the way, and determine how long it will take to
drive there. Once you've determined these basics, you can plan
the best method for achieving your goal. You will plan when to
leave, when you will stop along the way, and when you will finally
reach your destination.
Similarly, in creating a PR plan, you must first do your
research. What does your public know about your business, if
anything? Who are your competitors? How do they publicize their
businesses? Understanding your competition will help you rival them
in the marketplace.
With this information in mind, determine your objectives. What
do you wish to accomplish with your PR plan? Of course, you want to
expand sales volume. However, what other things do you want to
achieve? Perhaps you want to increase the number of repeat
customers your company has. Maybe you want to introduce a new
product or service. If your company is very new, your initial PR
plan may include simply getting the word out about your business.
Write down your objectives. Look them over. Rearrange them. Put
them into a logical sequence. Naturally, you cannot increase sales
volume before your potential customers know about you. Put your
goals into an orderly list of achievable objectives.
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