PR. It's a Mathematical Fact.

It happens. Bad people do bad things. This week, I learned about a company that hired a guy who snookered bosses and customers, set up false sales accounts and basically embezzled thousands of dollars. Lawsuits, accusations and the facts swirl in a tornado of chaos that hurts people, the company, the bottom line.

Welcome to crisis communications and the value of crisis planning and preparation. Welcome to the Heart of Public Relations (PR) where communicating is about real people and real issues. It's about solving real problems. Frankly, PR is really about preventing problems, helping companies get healthy through genuine, truthful, accurate communicating with people--employees, customers, marketplace consumers, vendors and suppliers, regulators. The media.

Good PR is about generating goodwill based on truth, integrity and honesty, all of which require TIME to birth and build. Sadly, a lot of PR is project driven, which drains its effectiveness. It becomes tactical vs. strategic; printed pieces and news clips instead of powerful PR that transforms organizations, messages, employees and others.

Should a company invest in public relations? Here are some reasons I say yes:

• Lawsuits filed. Media ask questions. You got the answers?
  
  
• You're adding or shuffling the Executive Management team. Do you have a plan in place that systematically shares the news--good and bad? Have you planned a Q&A with employees? Have you alerted your customers? Can you share a story that showcases vision, optimism and excellence while also being prepared to admit problems, challenges and mistakes?
  
  
• Mergers, acquisitions, strategic partnerships and alliances interest the media. And your employees. Share the news.
  
  
• "He who shouts the loudest gets the recognition." Sad but true. If you're not proactively sharing news, advice, and success stories to the marketplace somebody else is. That SOMEBODY may be your top competitor.
  
  
• You are uniquely YOU. Every CEO and every company has GOOD NEWS to share. It needs to be shared by you. Your experiences, hardships and high-fives are uniquely tied to you. Good PR focuses on good people, good stories and practical insights that help others. Share yourself. Get the exposure you deserve.
  
  
• Putting dollars into PR extends your marketplace reach more effectively than an advertisement. Think about it. You can spend $5,000 to $8,000 to create, produce and publish one ad in one publication, on one certain page in that publication. How many people will find your ad, and read it? That same investment in PR extends your message (perceived as a more credible message) to hundreds of key publications, reporters and editors, online and print. Probabilities are higher to gain more exposure through PR. It's a mathematical fact.
  

Enough said, yes? Convinced? Not convinced? Share your comments. And get started on a PR program. RGM Communications is ready to share YOUR story.

Vacation Aggravation is a business sensation

Silence is golden. Silence is scary. Silence is insidiously painful for the small business. It means clients are less accessible, projects stall and billing statements aren't processed on time. I blame it on summer vacations. For RGM Communications, May, June and July were months of madness. Money was tight. Emotions were high. And cash flow was a slow drip. We're a public relations agency focused on Business Communications for the Real World. Well, this summer, the Real World has been well, really real.

So, what do you think will happen in your business during the rest of 2008? And next year?

Tell us. We'll share the results.

Click here to take the YourBiz 2008 Survey

... And the rockets red glare, bombs bursting in air ...

America.

We have princes telling us to "deal with it"--gas prices. We have party hacks, Republicans and Democrats, declaring the end of the world--the farce of global warming. Our political leaders are mostly stale bread and sour milk. We need more than empty promises, pet projects, status quo and partisan pandering. We need revolution, regeneration. Resurrection. Today's America is caught in the crossfire of social, cultural, economic, political and religious battling that is changing America. We're stagnating as a nation. We're apathetic, preoccupied and too partisan. We live in a nation experiencing a withering political order that has hardened into Self Interest. Where is our American purpose and pride?

Then there's the war. Do we remember we're a nation at war? American men and women--the Moms, Dads and children of the American next door--are hunting, killing, developing and stabilizing worlds that don't know freedom or liberty. They fight extremists, terrorists, fanatics and fools who threaten our lives, laws, principles and precepts. They fight for the future of those who have only known dictatorship, torture, murder, hate and fear. Thousands are dying in the name of democracy. Thousands more are coming back home, dazed, disabled and emotionally wrecked. Do we acknowledge their service and sacrifice?

Suburbia. That's you and me. We're eeking out a living, pursuing success, loving our kids as best we can. We're trying to pay all the bills while mowing our lawns and drinking gallons of Sun Tea on the back porch. We're weekend warriors who clean our homes, swim in our pools and then visit church on Sundays. If we can leave our Blackberrys at home, we may even worship God, experience God and learn something. Where is God in all of this? Do we pray for our nation, our leaders and laws? . What's it going to take to revive our spirit, re-take our government, reduce our taxes, and be a nation of the people for the people?

I believe in America. I love America. I love America's heritage and history, despite its blemishes. America may teeter and totter. America may slumber and stumble, but America can thrive again. History shows that Americans are overcomers and doers who can be awakened.

See, America is you and me. Independently, we must be informed, involved and engaged. We must fight taxation without representation and balance individualism with nationalism. Our cause is Collective. Together, we stand. Are you ready to stand?

God Bless America. The greatest nation on earth.

Happy July 4th! Celebrate Your Freedom & Independence

Share Your comments

Ring of Fire, World on Fire

Just when I get nice and cozy with how "hard" life can be, the Magic Chiropractor in the sky gives me a total head-to-foot adjustment.

That's what I got today from Greg Buzek at IHL Consulting Group. Here's what he sent.


Click on the pic, or click on http://worldonfire.ca/

--Roy G. Miller

P.S. By the way, why should the devil have all the good music? Ask Larry (in Memoriam).

Good Intentions Often Don't Make Good Clients

The gut-ometer was clanging loud and clear. I ignored it.

I wanted to be a nice guy. Here's a talented entrepreneur with a new product--kinda quirky, kinda fun--and he needed help sharing The Story. And everything he'd done was coming out of his pocket. So I broke my agency rule. We didn't charge him a start-up fee. We didn't settle on a monthly amount of money to accomplish the tasks, activities and goals. And now, 40-plus billable hours later and zero dinero, he's upset because nobody seems interested in his product.

Now, the entrepreneur's words are sharp, strong and vicious. Via e-mail, he castigated, criticized and complained. How do I feel? I'm disappointed. Angry too. But mostly, I'm working on getting past the emotion, stepping back and examining all the pieces of the puzzle--How'd this happen and what can be learned?

Some thoughts:

• Listen to the gut-o-meter.
• Slow down.
• Never minimize service and value--always charge something for services rendered.
• Continue to stress the importance of setting up and managing expectations.
• Vet prospects before they become clients.
  

What I do know? PR is an ever-changing, ever-competitive game that requires consistency, persistency and a stubborn drive to keep "keepin' on," even if one news release or idea doesn't catch the media's interest. You've got to find the hooks they will find interesting, keep sharing and showing, and being relevant. Be polite. Be persistent. And be real with the media, and your client.

Above all, make sure you serve media and client in a professional manner. Deal honestly and forthrightly. Treat them the way you prefer to be treated. Be kind. Focus on what clients need, want and expect. Make sure you're really a valuable resource to reporters--not a hounding hype-ster that bothers and bores them. And lastly, diligently vet those prospects before they become clients.