Last week, a car crashed into a tree on a road not far from my own. A neighbor, who had just come from the direction of the accident, reported the news. “What happened?” I asked. “Not sure,” she said. “But the air bag deployed; it looked bad.”
Unintentionally, I was already formulating theories in my head. It was just past noon; surely the driver hadn’t been drinking? Maybe they were texting; it seems everyone is distracted one way or another these days. Was it an adult? A teen?
Days later, the photo of the clearly totaled SUV was in the local paper. Again, not many details on the accident other than the driver’s name, age and town. No cause yet determined. With a shortage of facts, I continued to fill in the blanks on my own. An adult male, middle of the day, tells me speed was a factor. Probably some sort of device causing a distraction as well.
Did I have a right to form these theories? I don’t know this man one bit. He could have swerved to avoid a deer, or been experiencing chest pains. Who am I to sum him up with no solid information?
We’re Only Human
Like it or not, such is human nature. When lacking the immediate information we so crave, we tend to fill in the blanks ourselves, often to negative ends. Without a detailed police report, I’ve proclaimed this driver a distracted speeder – without a shred of evidence to support it.
The same exists in the world of business communications. A public so used to immediately disseminated information – right or wrong – exhibits very little patience when not fed quickly enough. If your company’s first words to them are reactionary and incomplete, you’ve already lost control of the message.
Be Known to Them Before You Need Them
How can your company avoid such a misinformation feeding frenzy? Through proactive communications. By maintaining a steady stream of messaging to your target customers on a regular basis, you become a known quantity. Your public consistently receives information which helps them understand who you are, what you do and how you do it.
This familiarity is invaluable when a sensitive public relations situation arises. The groundwork you have taken the time to lay means you won’t be forced to start from square one – introduction – when trying to manage potentially damaging information on its way to your public.
Spin Free Zone
It is also key to keep proactive communications positive in an effort to develop trust. If you have paid attention to the concerns and preferences of your target customer, and have developed your messaging strategy appropriately, your public will feel a connection with your company which is regularly reinforced.
Again, when faced with a tricky public relations scenario, this means your customers will pause before they believe whatever information hits them first. The need to “spin” furiously is eliminated, because your public is less apt to jump on a negative message bandwagon if they feel they know enough about you to doubt it first.
A Relationship to Build On
Once familiarity, consistency and trust are in place, you are in a much stronger position to hold on to your customer base through even the stormiest corporate communications storms. In this sense, public relations is very much like interpersonal relations. When you truly feel you know someone, you trust first, weigh information carefully, and doubt almost never. Does that sound like a connection you’d like to forge with your target customers?
If so, we’d love to help. At Kovak-Likly, we make it our job to help you define your audience, refine your message, and formulate a public relations plan which build that level of trust layer by layer. To find out how we can work together, give us a call at 203.762.8833 or visit www.klcpr.com.
– BML
