Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Importance Of 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 refers to any communication that may take place between a business and its clients. This may be direct or indirect, from actual dialogue to virtual communication or just the perception they may have of who you are and what your company represents. If the image you portray is positive and well received, then income should be consistent.

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.

Some companies do not even have a substantial department for this area of work. It requires either an individual based in the company or an independent agent who is outsourced to handle and maintain the social image and customer relations. This can involve everything from social networking on Facebook, Twitter and other popular sites, to online marketing via emails, or sending out regular newsletters to clients and employees to maintain a positive and healthy relationship.

A healthy consumer relationship will result in loyalty towards your brand. Studies have shown that shoppers tend to buy products they are familiar with and gravitate towards service providers they have a close relationship with. The word of mouth is also very effective. A successful business is one that maintains contact with consumers and uses effective marketing and communication strategies.

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.

No matter how big or small a particular enterprise may be, it must have a PRO and a public relations evaluation must be done more than once throughout the year. If it is not done, existing problems will only get worse and this can have very negative consequences. Any tiny bit of bad publicity can ruin an entire business venture so it is crucial to communicate and elicit feedback regularly to prevent this. If consumers or staff are unhappy, this kind of evaluation will show what the problems are and how they can be addressed. If done effectively, the results can only be positive.




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