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Establishing Trust
The one thing you can't succeed without
Some companies seem to be the perpetual Rodney Dangerfields of their industries. No matter what they do, they just don't seem to get any respect.
Sometimes this is a matter of performance. A company that has repeatedly bungled product development, provided third-rate service, built products that break two days after the warranty, or missed major market opportunities may be lying in a bed of its own making. Trying to cover up such basic deficiencies with a communications barrage just leads to a loss of credibility -- and even more loss of respect.
Because an effective public relations program consists of communications based on responsible action, the first order of business in such cases is to resolve product and service problems. At this stage, the public relations operation needs to do more listening that talking. This is the time to conduct market research to determine how serious the problem really is and how you can best go about regaining the respect you need to survive.
Then, based on that research, you're in a position to launch a sound public relations program that includes specific components for communicating with customers, prospects, stockholders, employees, news media, and other stakeholders.