Home
>
Small Business
>
Public Relations: Antidote for Small Business Failure

Public Relations: Antidote for Small Business Failure

When small businesses fail, the wreckage is often assigned to undercapitalization, among other mistakes. Seldom is failure attributed to a lack of effective communications that might have modified the behavior of sales prospects in a positive way, thus averting bankruptcy.

In my view, raising money for new businesses is a skill best left to others, but smart, aggressive communications is not. As the entrepreneur, you cannot rely on your financing source to create the broad public exposure your business needs if it is to survive. Ideally from Day 1, you must take the lead in this vital effort accepting the fact that good results come only after careful planning and implementation of a realistic and workable public relations strategy.

Before you achieve real growth and prosperity, your target audiences must not only become aware that your company exists, they must be motivated to take action. Doing something about how your business is perceived means a well-planned public relations program that can reach, persuade and move those prospects to action.

At the root of it all, is a simple truism we all know but tend to forget: people act on their perception of the facts. If the small business owner is to have an effect on those perceptions, he/she must deal with them promptly and effectively.

So the question for you, Ms. or Mr. Small Business Wannabe, is, have you thought about some of the unattended perceptions out there that could nudge your fledgling business closer to bankruptcy than success? Perceptions that, if left unattended, may well result in actions that run counter to those you and your banker may desire?

For example:

* If sales prospects are unaware of your product or service, you will not get them as customers.

* And if those customers don't remain convinced of the value of your product or service, you lose them.

* If employees believe you don't care about them, productivity suffers.

* If a minority person believes you discriminate when you don't, a host of unnecessary problems may ensue.

* If community residents don't perceive your business as a good place to work, you have employee hiring and retention problems.

* If insurance carriers perceive you as a bad risk, they don't provide the business coverage you need.

* If journalists are suspicious of your motives and you don't convince them otherwise, you get "bad press."

* If business people believe what some competitors say about you, that joint venture you want so badly may not come about.

* And, as you grow bigger, if government regulators believe your products are not completely safe, sales will almost certainly be negatively affected.

Obviously, small businesses have limited resources. Still, there are certain cost-effective activities you can undertake to reach your target audiences. And considering the survival nature of this topic, while some expense is involved, you may wish to research nearby public relations professionals willing to partner with you during the early days of your enterprise.

Together, you may move in this direction:

First, rank your external audiences as to importance. For example, #1 customers; #2 prospects; #3 employees; #4 local and trade media; #5 your local business community; #6 community leaders, and so forth.

Second, as time permits, interact with members of each audience and jot down their impressions of your business, especially problem areas. This will help you set your public relations goal.

Third, prepare tailored messages that not only provide details about your product and service quality and diversity, but address problems that surfaced during your conversations.

Fourth, consider the most effective means for communicating each message to each audience. This may include everything from simple meetings, briefings and news releases, to media interviews, facility tours and special promotional events.

How will you know that your efforts are changing perceptions for the better? Over time, you should notice increased awareness of your business, a growing public perception of the role your business plays in the community; and, of course, growing numbers of prospects.

Such results are tracked by speaking on a regular basis with people among each of your key audiences, by monitoring print and broadcast media and by interaction with key customers and prospects.

Remember what is at stake - nothing less than the survival of your business!

So, keep an eye on what's most important, and remember that people in your community or marketing area behave like everyone else - they take actions based on their perception of the facts they hear about you and your business.

And that means you must deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by reaching and persuading them to your way of thinking, thus moving them to take actions that lead to the success of your business.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@tni.net.

Robert A. Kelly ? 2005.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

Visit: bobkelly@tni.net; bobkelly@tni.net

weekly home cleaning Highland Park ..

In The News:

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a week-long suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Archer Aviation has acquired Hawthorne Airport for $126M to launch an LA air taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympics, featuring AI-powered eVTOL operations and next-gen aviation tech.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Fake AI apps disguised as "ChatGPT" and "DALL·E" are flooding app stores with dangerous malware that steals data and monitors users without detection.

Fake buyers demand specific vehicle reports from unknown sites to steal credit card information from car sellers, but warning signs can help identify these scams before paying.

Android users can now manage apps across multiple devices more easily with Google Play Store's updated remote uninstall button in the latest update.