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FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Your website reflects your corporate identity online. Persuasive content, graphics, and navigation all work in harmony to make your site a standout success. Search engine optimization gets your site ranking high on search engines and your corporate identity found on the web. Enhance your brand, record events, facilitate training, instruct for safety and promote your products and services with corporate video productions

Your corporate capabilities brochure expresses your corporate identity in print. Solidify your brand with great graphics and persuasive, to-thepoint text. 3D Graphic Designs and illustrations add dimension to your corporate identity. A great tool to impress your customers by creating images of a proposed reality.

Your website reflects your corporate identity online. Persuasive content, graphics, and navigation all work in harmony to make your site a standout success.

Logo design is at the root of building your corporate identity, image and brand. Your customers associate the qualities of your company with your logo.

Media relations, community relations, public affairs, crisis communications, issue management, and public speaking all impact your corporate identity.

In todays news-driven business environment, building and maintaining a strong corporate reputation has never been more imperative.

The functions of Public Relations (PR) can be grouped into two loose categories: organizational and societal. Many viewpoints of the functions fall into both categories and are not mutually limited. The scope of organizational functions of PR involves actions concerning the company, and societal functions of PR interests' activities regarding society. Organizational functions of PR are activities that interact with or affect organizations while societal functions of PR have to do with actions that connect to the public. Communications management, media, government affairs, publicity, investor relations, community relations, consumer relations, and employee relations are organizational functions while marketing communications, consumer relations, public affairs and issues management plus social responsibility are societal functions.

Marketers must be prepared to respond quickly to erroneous information and negative opinions about products as it can spin out of control very quickly through the new technology channels. Failure to correct misinformation can be devastating to a product or companys reputation. It should be noted that specialized monitoring services can be contracted to help companies keep track of buzz about the company and its products.

GOOD PUBLIC RELATIONS CONDUCIVE TO


LARGER PROFITS

In this era of social consciousness, is expected to be operated on a high plane of ethics, with every regard for the needs, desires, and feelings of the people with whom it deals. In other words, a business is expected to operate in the public interest. To carry the argument still further, a business, no less than an individual, is expected to respect and observe the dictates of good manners and good taste. The truth of the matter is, however, that sound publicrelations practice, besides establishing and maintaining a corporation's status as a "good citizen" and as an institution well worthy of public esteem is sooner or later reflected on the asset side of the corporation's balance sheet.

A SOUND PUBLIC-RELATIONS PROGRAM


ACCELERATES SALES

If we accept the concept that the public-relations functions encompass and direct the functions of paid advertising-and this concept seems sound and logicalthen the favorable influence of public relations upon the sales of products and services becomes so obvious that it needs no detailed spelling-out here. Beyond the range and reach of paid-for advertising, however, a sound public-relations program facilitates the work of a producer's salesmen by "conditioning" the public mind to accept the product and its producer. Good public-relations practice is something more than idealistic intentions; something more than advertising and publicity. In business, good public-relations practice is a way of life.

INFLUENCE ON PUBLIC MOVEMENTS AND


TRENDS

On a broader scale, public-relations techniques may be applied to the task of directing public movements and trends, and even of creating new trends. Consider fashions. In a motion picture released at the beginning of the week, a popular feminine star wears an unusual hat. By the week-end, that same hat, or a reasonable facsimile of it, will be gracing many a retail display window on New York's Fifth Avenue. Coincidence? Ask the public-relations woman who "planted" the hat in the movie in the first place. An ideal program for any commercial organization is one which performs a public service, and therefore is good public relations, and at the same time helps to sell goods.

Organizational functions and Societal functions of PR include: Communications management Relationship management Media Relations Publicity Marketing communications Employee relations Investor relations Social responsibility Community relations Consumer relations Government affairs Public affairs and issues management

ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

MARKET MONITORING
Monitoring public comment about a company and its products is becoming increasingly important especially with the explosion of information channels on the Internet. Today monitoring includes watching what is written and reported in traditional print and broadcast media and also keeping an eye on discussions occurring through various Internet outlets such as forums, chatrooms, blogs and other public messaging areas.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Marketers need to be prepared to respond quickly to negative information about the company. When a problem with a product arises in fact or substantiated only by rumor a marketers investment in a product and brand can be in serious jeopardy. Today, with the prevalence of the Internet and wireless communications, negative information can spread rapidly. Through monitoring marketers can track the issues and respond in a timely fashion. To manage response effectively, many companies have crises management plans in place that outline steps to take and company spokespeople to speak on behalf of the company should an event occur.

CORPORATE REPUTATION

CORPORATE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT


Corporate reputation management is the business of directing all aspects of an organizations performance from the perspective of one of its most important attributes: reputation. Senior management ever more realizes that reputation can make or break a companys bottom line. It can boost or kill sales, attract or put off investment and business partners, recruit or deter employees, influence legislators and regulators, and literally touch every audience.

CORPORATE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Corporate reputation management is conducted using an array of sophisticated tools and techniques including competitive benchmarking, reputation scorecards, key performance indicators, journalist surveys, media content analysis, new media measurement, PR research, stakeholder evaluation, internal communications measurement, opinion polls, omnibus surveys, and crisis research. Tools and techniques, such as thought leadership studies, reputation survey and analysis, PR and communications measurement and rating methodologies, stakeholder research and corporate image surveys can all be designed to support corporate reputation management.

Reputation management is the process of tracking an entity's actions and other entities opinions about those actions; reporting on those actions and opinions; and reacting to that report creating a feedback loop. All entities involved are generally people, but that need not always be the case. Other examples of entities include animals, businesses, or even locations or materials. The tracking and reporting may range from word-of-mouth to statistical analysis of thousands of data points. Search Engine Image Protection (SEIP) Also known as Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM), combines the science of Search Engine Optimization, with technical and marketing expertise, for the sole purpose of protecting your name and reputation from undesired public information accessible via internet search results.

The common strategy is to overwhelm and ELIMINATE negative, defamatory listings that show up when people 'Google' your name, or the name of your business, removing potentially damaging search engine results from public view, regardless of the source or validity of those listings
This process is central to all kinds of human interaction, including interpersonal relationships, international diplomacy, stock markets, communication through marketing and public relations and sports.

Reputation is generally wrapped around character, what an individual, organization, society or state is known for, and it may be good, bad or ugly. This reputation that you are known for are real, perceived, ambivalent or totally untrue. Reputation is different from image or branding for the fact that the earlier can be created and the latter is an identity that evolves and establishes where an organization is now.

Reputation management is neither public relation nor data collecting or advertisement management, it deals with the root cause of a problem, offers solutions, set processes in motion and monitors progress towards these solutions. For the effective management a matrix was developed, namely R.I.P.E matrix as its called which stands for Repair, Improve, Polish or Eleminate.

REPUTATION CAN EITHER BE:

Excellent this means that the organization has obtained the highest position on the spectrum that makes its reputation to be impeccable and this means that all the indices that ensure the best corporate governance are present; high quality of service/product, strong corporate compliance, strong brand values and communication, anticipate and manage risk properly, relate well with all stakeholders (internal and external) without any major friction, fulfills contractual agreements, communicate effectively, learn from others mistakes and above all have clear and transparent vision, strategy, plan and be trustworthy.

Good organizations that belong to this category have almost everything that were mentioned in the excellent category but one or two of them may be missing. Bad organization that belong to this section are numerous in number this is primarily because they continuously break people trust in them. Ugly this is the lowest depth of reputation, it always happen as a result of a high level of deception by an organization or an individual it either ruin the organization or the individuals that surround it.

Also it is possible for organization to be boxed into any of the categories that they do not necessarily belong to because of being misunderstood or the fact that they are not transparent enough in their dealings with the stakeholders and this can be disastrous for the organization.

Identifying the state of your reputation either excellent, good, bad or ugly every reputation requires attention. In order to identify the position of an organization on the reputation spectrum there are things that can serve as pointers, here are some of them; 1. High or low employee turnover 2. Reduction or increase in market share 3. Waning or increasing shareholders confidence 4. Quality of product/service 5. Customer retention is high or low 6. Media report good or bad 7. Third party rating and award is high or non existence 8. Competitors perception of your organization 9. Host community perception

This are what the stakeholders will use in judging the pointers earlier mention in order to situate your reputation, so question such as; How do you treat your staff? How does the organization respond to crisis? What is your rating like? How much confidence do your shareholder/ bank have in you? How well do the consumers accept your product/service? It is now left for your organization to know what is being said of you and align it with your brand. Your brand may be good and still have a bad reputation Reputation management is therefore cyclic and the one to be use must fit the stage in which an organization is in.

The cost of managing the reputation of an organization will adequately reduce if your preparatory reputation level is very high, reputation management could therefore take place at any of the stages of the development of an organization, the stages and the type of management required are listed below Preparatory Reputation Management for the preestablishment of the organization Introductory Reputation Management for the introductory level of the organization Incremental Reputation Management for the growth era in the organization Experiential Reputation Management for the mature era of the organization Perspective Reputation Management for the decline stage of the organization

A strong corporate reputation generates confidencein the present as well as the future and can power a companys success by: Driving profitable sales in crowded markets Attracting, motivating and retaining talented employees Deterring competitors Attracting capital resources and strategic business partners Facilitating entry into new markets Defining corporate financial value (market capitalization)

DEVELOPING CORPORATE IDENTITY

Corporate identity is not just a logo or a name of a company. Though these are the most visible of its components. Corporate identity is what makes a company special and unique. It expresses the company's approach to business, its values and business culture. It is reflected in everything from the quality of the products and/or services, marketing strategies, communication media, and working environment. Corporate identity should tie all the different elements of the business together in a unifying way. Corporate identity enables the company to build recognition and loyalty among clients, to communicate its values and special approach to business in a memorable way, to establish a benchmark of set of goals, against which the performance can be judged, and to give employees a sense of belonging to a team.

Corporate identity is especially important for a new company. A well-developed corporate identity is an investment in the company's future. It helps to lend credibility and professionalism to the enterprise, at a time when it is trying to become known in the market. Successful companies invest a lot of time and energy into managing how they are seen by the world. They do not leave anything to chance when it comes to their corporate identity. Corporate identity is also the detailed way a company is intended to be run, serving as a guide to employees as the company grows. Developing an effective corporate identity does not necessarily mean investing large amounts of money but it takes time and careful consideration. Organisations can provide trade name/trademark design, logo design, webpage design and corporate identity consulting.

EFFECTIVE NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES

Startup entrepreneurs are not always the best negotiators. They step into the shoes of a business owner for the first time and find to their surprise that nearly everything involves negotiation of some kind, and they may not always have those negotiation techniques down. Starting a business requires, quite literally, hundreds of negotiations. Some are small, like securing the best price on printing your letterhead and business cards. Others are far bigger deals that can make or break your startup business from the get-go. Sometimes you are the buyer; other times the seller. Either way, the skills you need to be a good negotiator are the same.

Negotiating is an art. Simple yet effective techniques can make a negotiation not only profitable, but more fun. It's important to understand the entirety of what you are negotiating not only to better understand your opponent's position, but also to ensure that you're getting the best in the end. You need to keep your emotions under wraps to be effective during a negotiation.

TEN NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES:

Prepare, prepare, prepare Enter a negotiation without proper preparation and you've already lost. Start with yourself. Make sure you are clear on what you really want out of the arrangement. Research the other side to better understand their needs as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Enlist help from experts, such as an accountant, attorney or tech guru.

Pay attention to timing Timing is important in any negotiation. Sure, you must know what to ask for. But be sensitive to when you ask for it. There are times to press ahead, and times to wait. When you are looking your best is the time to press for what you want. But beware of pushing too hard and poisoning any long-term relationship.

Leave behind your ego The best negotiators either don't care or don't show they care about who gets credit for a successful deal. Their talent is in making the other side feel like the final agreement was all their idea.

Ramp up your listening skills The best negotiators are often quiet listeners who patiently let others have the floor while they make their case. They never interrupt. Encourage the other side to talk first. That helps set up one of negotiation's oldest maxims: Whoever mentions numbers first, loses. While that's not always true, it's generally better to sit tight and let the other side go first. Even if they don't mention numbers, it gives you a chance to ask what they are thinking.

If you don't ask, you don't get Another tenet of negotiating is "Go high, or go home." As part of your preparation, define your highest justifiable price. As long as you can argue convincingly, don't be afraid to aim high. But no ultimatums, please. Take-it-or-leave-it offers are usually out of place.

Anticipate compromiseYou should expect to make concessions and plan what they might be. Of course, the other side is thinking the same, so never take their first offer. Even if it's better than you'd hoped for, practice your best look of disappointment and politely decline. You never know what else you can get.

Offer and expect commitment The glue that keeps deals from unraveling is an unshakable commitment to deliver. You should offer this comfort level to others. Likewise, avoid deals where the other side does not demonstrate commitment.

Don't absorb their problems In most negotiations, you will hear all of the other side's problems and reasons they can't give you what you want. They want their problems to become yours, but don't let them. Instead, deal with each as they come up and try to solve them. If their "budget" is too low, for example, maybe there are other places that money could come from.

Stick to your principles As an individual and a business owner, you likely have a set of guiding principles values that you just won't compromise. If you find negotiations crossing those boundaries, it might be a deal you can live without.

Close with confirmation At the close of any meeting even if no final deal is struck recap the points covered and any areas of agreement. Make sure everyone confirms. Follow-up with appropriate letters or emails. Do not leave behind loose ends.

Be Confident No matter how desperate you may be, your appearance of confidence will set your opposition back a bit. Be calm and cheerful, and exude confidence not only in yourself, but in the entirely reasonable request that you are making. Don't in any way, shape or form indicate that you're desperate for the deal, the job, the car, the house or the item for which you are negotiating. You'll give your opponent all the power in the deal in this situation, and you will end up with a result that you might well rue.

Be Prepared Prior to starting the negotiation, make sure you're on top of every detail (for example, the cost of any add-ons, the price of financing, rebates available or the going rate for contract or supplies). Having these details available quickly gives you far more power in negotiating as it becomes apparent that you understand the business issue at hand--it lends you credibility. If issues arise of which you were not aware, stop the negotiation and take time to get further information before continuing.

Start High? Negotiating is not meeting in the middle. It is finding a common place of agreement. You don't have to start too high or start low, but the deal that you strike will not be the deal you start with. Make sure you've built into any opening offer enough buffer so that you can make concessions that are not of tremendous importance to you. This way, your opponent can whittle away some things, yet you still come out ahead, satisfying both parties.

Know What You Want Similarly, know what your bottom line is. If too much is being whittled away, your deal isn't going to be satisfactory. Make sure you know in advance what is absolutely the minimum that works. Be willing to walk away if that minimum is no longer available. It's a powerful technique and one that gives a chance for cooler heads to prevail if the negotiating is becoming heated.

Don't Lose Your Cool If it's getting very heated, take a time out. Walk outside, review your needs and assess where you are in the negotiation. If you've just been surprised with new information, either research it using your hand-held computer or reschedule until you can be fully up to speed on the item. If you're clearly too far apart from your opponent and she's unwilling to budge, assess whether to walk away now or see what further steps you can take, if any.

Win-Win Solutions When negotiating, always look for win-win solutions, and present them as such. If you need to get the garage cleaned, and your son wants a new watch, you have the makings of a winwin negotiation. You might tell him, "Look, you want that watch, and I want a clean garage. Let's both get what we want okay? Clean it up today and we'll get your watch. How's that sound?" The key to good win-win solutions in your negotiations is to find non-conflicting needs or wants.

Exclude Competition If you could exclude competition in any negotiation, you'll have a better chance of getting what you want, right? How do you do that? Start by never mentioning competition to the other side. It's possible they don't know all their options, and it's not your job to enlighten them. At the negotiating table, be ready to confront the competition head-on, when the other side brings it up.

Extreme Initial Positions Everyone knows this technique, but most are afraid to use it. A real estate investor I was talking to the other day told me, "If you aren't embarrassed by your offer, it isn't low enough.

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