Seat at the Table

It can be frustrating see so many public relations professionals ignore the fact that a business’s purpose is to run a solid business and that the right reputation can come from simply communicating that fact.   This means, and I say this as a public relations professional, that sometimes having a strong dialogue with audiences through blogging or other means, is not a top priority.

As I noted in a recent comment, the best public relations comes from a combination of solid business practices – strong business model, quality products or services, treating key internal and external audiences well – with the ability to clearly communicate the strength of these practices.  Does this require a blog?  Not necessarily. 

As Jeremy Pepper points out today, AT&T (sorry, at&t) might not get blogs, but they are still going to be captains of industry and everyone will know what they are up to – rebuilding the old AT&T as the largest national and local telecommunications carrier.

This same issue came up in posts by Shel Isael, author (with Robert Scoble) of Naked Conversations wondering if Target Stores should be blogging.  Why?  They seem to have a communications model centered on letting the business to speak for itself.  Consumers come in, have an experience that reflects the public messaging (great products, great service) and then let their friends know (that’s where I hear most of Target’s reputation messages).  Maybe there will be a need for other communications strategies and tactics one day (such as blogging), but that does not seem to be today.   Not every business can do this, but when they can, it may be the best strategy of all.

The bottom line point to be made is that public relations professionals need to take a step back and learn what business is about and what it’s not about.  It’s about running a great operation for it’s key consituencies (community, investors, customers, employees etc).  The role public relations should be playing at the corporate reputation level is two pronged: 1) to help communicate this fact when it needs communicating (Target does not seem to need it, at&t does not seem to need it, Wal-Mart most definitely does need it); 2) to advise on what business steps may need to be taken to form a business model that would lead to a great reputation (this is not different that Karl Rove suggesting that certain legislation will shore up Bush’s reputation in a political base).  Both of these areas require a strong understanding of business and a public relations mentality that has the business driving the reputation and not vice versa.

Want corporate executives to take public relations more seriously?  Then understand that in the end, it’s all about business.