For the past few months, there have been discussions in various PR communities regarding defining public relations and it seems to be a continual challenge. If PR theorists throughout he decades have different definitions*, it makes sense that the industry as a whole might be challenged to operate in one cohesive fashion.

Part of the challenge in defining PR, it seems, is that most companies, agencies and their practitioners consider PR the art of getting ink. Ink slingers, if you will. With such a huge misperception, we should be curious as to what other misunderstandings might be out there.

For this post, the working definition of PR will be:

Public relations is a management function that establishes and maintains two-way, mutual relationships and communications between an organization and the publics and stakeholders that often determine their success or failure. PR management includes on-going research, analysis, planning, and evaluation in order to understand, develop, and nurture strategic relationships.

Stakeholders are Publics, But Not All Publics Are Stakeholders

When PR is looked at as media (or blogger) relations only, a funny thing happens… Every reader begins to look like a potential customer (or donor, etc.). More ink equals more impressions equals more potential customers! (That philosophy usually adds up to a big ‘ol nothing if the only goal is revenue generation.)

It’s key in PR efforts to understand that not all publics are stakeholders. Stakeholders are the groups that have an actual stake in the organization: customers, donors, employees, students, shareholders, investors, etc. Publics are any group that might have a common interest or values in a given situation, but they do not have a stake in an organization. That certainly does not mean that other publics are not powerful groups.

With this in mind, the question is:

Who wields more power to determine the success or failure of your organization… stakeholders or publics?

Getting Closer To Publics

Let’s take a look at typical groupings of publics.

Latent, Aware, Active

Latent publics are the trickiest. They might be aware of an organization’s values (i.e. implicit brand), but they are not aware of the relationship they might have with the organization. Aware publics understand their own values and how they intersect with an organization’s values. Active publics recognize the relationship between themselves and the organization and they manage that relationship on their own terms.

Intervening Publics

This public will work with an organization to send a message to another public. For example, the media or a non-profit group that might work closely with your organization’s industry.

Primary and Secondary

Any public that directly affects an organization’s goals and holds the resources the organization requires, it’s a primary public. Secondary publics don’t really affect an organizations goals, but they shouldn’t be ignored.

Internal and External

This one hopefully doesn’t require explanation. The trick here is to understand that some external publics feel closer to the organization (or a right to be involved) and therefore the line between internal and external gets a little thin. Just take a look at college alumni sports fans, private investors or donors/benefactors and you get the picture.

Domestic and International

Again, this should make sense. However, keep in mind that just because the organization might be domestic, it doesn’t mean that international publics might not have a hand in the success or failure of the organization.

Stakeholders Already Have a Stake

If stakeholders already have a stake or interest in an organization, does that put them in a position of more or less power? Is it conceivable that some stakeholders, like employees, actually have less power? Do we assume customers and investors (or donors) have more power than other publics because they hold the purse strings? Would we ever consider that groups of stakeholders would ban together in an action? We see it with labor unions.

Getting Blindsided by Chasing Ink

If PR practitioners are out chasing ink, they might focus on the publics that can do the most damage to impeding your organization’s ability to achieve its goal. It happens all the time. How many times have we watched a situation build to the point of explosion? Yet the organization seemed relatively unaware that there was even an issue.

Timberland vs. Greenpeace

What does a CEO do when a public becomes a very active one? Active in setting out to tarnish other publics’ views of your brand, that is. That’s exactly what happen to Timberland’s CEO, Jeff Swartz.

Unbeknownst to Mr. Swartz, Greenpeace had produced a report that stated Timberland (among other companies) as being “of supporting slave labor, destroying Amazon rain forests, and exacerbating global warming.”

As Timberland was bombarded with e-mails from concerned publics, they were trying to figure out what had happened and how to best respond to the grassroots effort. In doing so, Timberland and its supplier weren’t even sure that the Greenpeace report wasn’t valid. They needed to review their entire supply chain to determine specifically where their leather source, which was going to take time.

Lesson learned? If an organization does not have an understanding of their all publics or have only focused on a few, they may be caught off guard by not only how the public taps into every tool available to spread its message across the Internet, but how they will control your business as well. Timberland did what they should have done from a PR management perspective and in working with Timberland, they were able to meet in middle ground.

So back to the question…

Who wields more power to determine the success or failure of your organization… stakeholders or publics?

Is this something you’re even thinking about?

[Image Source: PURObueno.com

*Be sure to check out this wikispaces project to review all of the definitions of PR.

It’s Mother’s Day weekend! Let’s celebrate moms and how they have turned marketers upside down.

As a marketer, I have been impressed with how moms have worked with companies to make their voice heard and to get companies to understand that if their needs (and the needs of their children and families!) are met with applicable solutions, they will become brand loyal. As people become as comfortable with social media tools and sharing their voices as moms, I am confident that they will follow this path and forge partnerships with the companies that serve them.

I have tapped into four wonderful moms (of all boys!), Christa Miller, Shelli Johnson, Jeannie Cusick Walters, and Becky Carroll who just also happen to be some of the smartest communicators I know. Here’s the advice they’d like to share with fellow marketers and communicators:

Christa Miller, owner of Christa M. Miller Communications and mom to two boys:

“Don’t assume that all mothers’ experiences are alike. Some are very similar, of course, but motherhood is so intensely personal that even our reasons for (example) going back to work, self-employing, or leaving the workforce altogether to stay home are not as cut and dried as the actions you see. (Mothers forget this, too.) Parenting cuts to all our deepest wishes, hopes and insecurities, our most personal life experiences and the way we see this awesome responsibility. Respect that, whether in humor or seriousness, and you’ll win my trust.”

Shelli Johnson, own of Frontier Consulting Group and Have Media Will Travel, and mom to three boys:

“Share a story that I, as a mom, can relate to—any story that some mom will relate to—and you’ll have my attention. If you get personal and make it real, you have me. Promise.”

Jeannie Cusick Walters, owner of 360Connext and mom to two boys:

“I wish there were more messages about how awesome moms are to each other. We’re always helping each other out and supporting one another – it’s not this crazy competition some marketers want to make it.”

Becky Carroll, owner Customers Rock!, author of The Hidden Power of Your Customers: Four Keys to Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers and mom to two boys:

“Don’t forget that not all moms (and mom bloggers) are mothers only of little ones. We who have teenagers are still moms – and we fondly remember the tiny hands and warm hugs that are sometimes missing at this age… market to that.”

Marketers, understand this: humor, trust, and understanding wins! Moms, what advice would you share with marketers?

Momentum: Moms won’t like your brand if you clutter up her Facebook page with promotions

“Facebook is the place Moms love. 91% of the Moms surveyed have a Facebook account and 62% claim to access it multiple times a day. A very high percentage, 76%, have liked or friended a brand or product on Facebook. Why? Because they liked the brand’s personality or wanted first-hand knowledge on new products or deals.

Why does she choose not to like or friend a brand? She doesn’t want you cluttering up her page with promotions and she’s concerned with privacy. And she feels Facebook is for her “real friends”. Plus she takes into account she’s probably already receiving emails, catalog, direct mail and mobile messages from the brand.”

Yahoo! Advertising Blog: Tips for Marketing to Moms Online During “Me Time”

“Content-matching combined with day-parting is key …it’s not just about reaching moms; it’s about reaching them at the right time with the right message.

‘Whether it’s on a PC or a tablet, the approach should be about creating content and messaging that respects a woman’s need to have both productive time and me time…’”

Marketing to Moms Blog: 8 Changes in the Mom Market over 5 Years

“Millennial moms have redefined Burger King’s old tagline, “Have it your way”. Today’s new mothers expect to customize products, media and even the lifestyle of motherhood. They are applying their pre-baby style to post-baby life and customizing motherhood to their daily activities, personal values, goals and philosophies and expect the products they purchase to be customizable to the motherhood they define for themselves.”

Material Instinct: Product extensions: why new isn’t always better

“When it comes to new products for moms, here’s my litmus test: solve a real problem without making more work for her. Creating another thing for a mom to pay for, own, maintain, and find in her purse is not progress unless it’s truly useful. Otherwise, let’s call it for what it is: preying on her insecurities while pocketing more of her cash.”

Social Times: Marketing to Moms on Twitter? Make Them Laugh

“A new study says that a majority of moms (52%) like to see humor in businesses’ tweets. Further, what moms want most from businesses’ tweets are links to interesting articles/news (71%) followed by links to sales or special offers on their websites (67%) and links to downloadable coupons/discounts (63%).

On Twitter they’re looking for good deals, too, but they also want to be kept informed about news and articles that are relevant to their lives.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

[Image source: SheKnows.com]

A simple shift in thinking can have amazing beneficial results for customer and company.

The first time I heard of this story was from PR and communications expert and good friend, Leigh Fazzina. The lesson she shared is a poke between the eyes:

“Sometimes we need to change our strategy. If we always do what we’ve always done, then we will always get what we’ve always gotten.”

What’s holding you back from change?

One of my biggest pet peeves as a marketer (and PR practitioner, too!) is not having access to customers.

Fortunately, I have worked for many companies that have trusted me and allowed access.

Of course, I have also received my fair share of Heismans from sales and management. Heck, by their blocking you would have thought I was requesting their first born for a ritual sacrifice or worse… their yearly bonus.

Today, in our social world there is absolutely no reason to refuse marketers access to customers. Unless, of course, said marketers are raving lunatics running around high on tactical crack because their sales team is demanding leads. Then yeah, they shouldn’t be allowed to chat it up with customers.

Reality Check

Customers do not silo their experiences with companies—they never have and never will.

When a customer gets a direct mail piece, they don’t think “Oh, wow. How nice of those direct marketers for sending us this little card with a discount code.” Nor do they think, “Hey thanks PPC manager! I appreciate that you put that Google ad squarely in my face when I was looking for new shoes.”

If marketers understand customers from that perspective, they will understand that any outreach, touch point, or interaction must represent the brand, not the silo.

From that regard, all interactions that marketers have with customers must be authentic and transparent in nature. Remember, you are the brand. For example, if your reason for interacting is to collect insights for a new product or service, be clear about it. Customers often appreciate being able to provide feedback if they think the company is willing to listen and implement their suggestions.

Learning From Our Friends In Customer Service

As we know, great customer service never goes out of style. Companies like Southwest Air, Best Buy, and Publix have made a business decision to put the customer in the center of their organization in order to serve them better.

Marketers need to make a concerted effort do the same thing. Servicing the customer isn’t just smart after the sale, but long before one.

CMS offers 65 Customer Service Best Practices and many applied to marketing. The below list falls under the category of things that MUST be implemented in marketing.

• How can we make it easier for our customers to do business with us?
• Instant chat lines set up to answer customers concerns
• Have a profile and complete record of each customer
• Focus groups/Brainstorming sessions with customers
• Be accessible to customers
• How do we meet and exceed expectations?
• Customer advisory board
• Anticipate problems and solve them before the customer complains
• Determine customer expectations
• Set guidelines for being more reliable, responsive and credible
• Listen to them
• Ask the right questions to find real problems and concerns
• Open communication
• Say “NO” less often
• More recognition for both internal and external customers
• Showing the flag – get in front of the customer more often – visit

Where does your customer service IQ fall? Would you have selected these items for marketing? What other customer service best and effective practices should marketers implement?

[Image source: Savage Chickens]

According to the new book, Wikibrands: Reinventing Your Company In A Customer-Driven Marketplace, by Sean Moffitt and Mike Dover, a wikibrand is a “progressive set of organizations, products, services, ideas and causes that tap the powers of customer participation, social influence, and collaboration to drive business value.”

This philosophy requires a massive organization culture shift. Wikibranding is about having the guts to allow the customer co-pilot your business. We only need to look at companies like Zappos, Dell, Southwest, FedEx, Target, and Cisco to see that wikibranding is not only possible, but it makes for a very profitable company. (Here are wikibrands by industry, if you are curious to see what your competition might be up to.)

Wikibrands not only provides the benefits of becoming a wikibrand in today’s business environment; it also walks you through how to become a successful wikibrand.

The Benefits of Wikibranding:

• Brand advocacy
• Powerful brand advocates (influencers)
• Brand insight (as well as innovation and feedback)
• Brand content
• Brand support
• Brand perception

The FLIRT Model

The FLIRT model is a strategic, executional and technological process to build an effective and engaged wikibrand.

• Focus: Organizational and strategic considerations that help determine specific areas, depth, scale, and exclusivity of collaboration.
• Language and Content: The “face,” tone and context in with your brand is presented to your potential audience.
• Incentives, Motivations, and Outreach: The intrinsic, extrinsic, and explicit rewards, motivations, and outputs that people earn for their participation.
• Rules, Guidelines, and Rituals: The explicit laws, general principles and loose customs and traditions that govern accepted engagement.
• Tools and Platforms: The technical infrastructure, collaboration, engagement, and community features and activities.

The FLIRT model also includes metrics and insights, internalization of benefits, life cycle of community, and community management.

The most important aspect of the FLIRT model is that the tactical execution of tools and platforms comes last. Too often, companies dive into the tactics first and when that strategy fails they are left believing that social business is ineffective. By following the FLIRT model, companies must lead their endeavors with strategy.

A Word to Naysayers

Are you still thinking that social business is hype? Sean and Mike provide more proof points and examples as to the reality of social business than any other book I have read on the subject. I hope you read Wikibrands and use the reference guide that will walks you through Eleven Ways to Develop a Wikibrand before your competition does.

Wikibrands is a definitive guide on the today’s business environment. The book and website will be on-going references for me.

[Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Wikibrands through McGraw-Hill’s Business Insider Program. I had the opportunity to select this book as part of the program and did so because it focuses on customer-centric business.]

Image sources: vview.co.za and Amazon.com.