(Public Relation) Devi

8/3/2019 (Public Relation) Devi

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Importance of Communication

-Communication is an integral instinct of all living things. The importance of

communication is best understood when there is a lack of it. The following articlediscusses how important communication is and why it plays such a vital role in our

daily lives.

-There is more to communication than just talk and gesture. Listening,

understanding and interpreting are as much integral to communication as words

verbal, written or gestured. Yes, even gestures in communication play a crucialrole in conveying and interpreting the message! Similarly, how we communicate

or express ourselves goes a great way towards determining how our expressions

are interpreted. To quote Karl Popper, "It is impossible to speak in such a way that

you cannot be misunderstood". Faulty or incomplete communication can

completely mar the purpose of communicating and may result in damaging

consequences. This is where understanding the importance of communication

and communicating the right way comes into picture. Not everyone is equally

endowed with the ability to effectively express himself and this is where the

importance of communication skills can be truly fathomed. The importance of

communication is equal in every walk of like, be it in personal, professional or

social life.


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The Importance of Public Relations

Public relations professionals do more than draft press releases and

build relationships with key media representatives. They must also

be familiar with the attitudes and concerns of consumers,

employees, public interest groups, and the community in order to

establish and maintain cooperative working relationships.

In addition to fulfilling their traditional role of getting a company's

message out to its audience, those who have completed their

studies in communications and public relations may also be

responsible for developing and running programs designed to keepthe lines of communication open between company and

organization representatives and their various audiences. This might

include such activities as scheduling speaking engagements for key

company staff and speech writing.


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Why is Public Relations Important?

At its core, public relations revolves around thisuniversal truth: people act based upon their perceptionof facts. By managing, controlling, or influencingpeople's perceptions, public relations professionals hope

to initiate a sequence of behaviors that will lead to theachievement of an organization's objectives. Whenthose in public relations successfully create, change, orreinforce opinion through persuasion, their primary

objective is accomplished.


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How Does Public Relations Work?

Public relations professionals follow a set ofprinciples in order to achieve success. Mostcampaigns begin with the identification of theproblem or challenge, then move on to setting

the public relations' goal. In order to achieve thegoal, the public relations specialist craftspersuasive messages and implements keycommunication tactics while monitoring

progress and fine tuning as necessary.


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The Communication ProcessThe communication process involves a sender or communication

source, the subject matter of communication, expressions used for

communicating (encoding), the medium of communication,receiver(s) of the communication and the interpretation thereof

(decoding) and feedback. This can be diagrammatically represented

as follows:-

SENDER >>> MESSAGE >>> ENCODING >>>

DECODING


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Importance of Communication in

Business

The success of any business lies as much in networking and buildingsound professional relationships as it does in individual tact and

business acumen. Communication is a crucial decisive factor in

business relations. It is very important to say the right things at the

right time and at the right place when dealing with partners, customers

and stakeholders. Any mis-communication or ambiguity can pour pails

of cold water on your hard work and ruin your chances of survival in

today's competitive business environment. Maintaining professional

etiquette in oral and written business communication is of utmost

importance and must not be taken lightly. We should be grateful that

we are living in an era of enlightenment where we have access to

training on just about anything under the sun! Nowadays, manycourses are available that provide training on developing business

communication skills and correspondence and conduct classes on ways

to improve communication skills. Effective communication skills in

business go a long way in sealing your success


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the WorkplaceThe most difficult part of running an organization is managing the human

resources. This is one resource which doesn't work on any principle of

management, economics, psychology or any other social science! This is the most

random and volatile resource which must be managed with great dexterity to

reach desired organizational goals. Communication is that lubricant which keeps

this resource moving throughout the organizational machinery. Importance of

communication in the workplace is manifold, as it involves communication alongvertical, horizontal and parallel organizational levels and such communication

should always follow the hierarchy prescribed by the organization. A breach of

the hierarchal channel of communication is known as a Gang Plank and should be

avoided as much as possible. Communication in the workplace involves

interpersonal communication between colleagues, superior and subordinate andvice versa and workplace communication skills come handy in such situations. A

clear understanding of the purpose of such communication, especially if it is of a

vertical nature, along with the expectations of the sender and receiver are

extremely important for the smooth running of an organization. Read more about

ways to improve communication skills to enhance your interpersonal

communication skills.


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Leadership

What is the role of a leader? A leader is expected torepresent his/her followers and motivate them to reach

heights of success through individual and collective effort.

Communication is the best equipment a leader can use to

achieve this goal. Even ideals resting upon strong principles

can fall flat and fail to motivate due to lack of effective

communication skills. History is galore with examples of

many national leaders who have moved the masses by their

life-changing speeches and powerful writings! Abraham

Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. are prominent examples ofoutstanding leadership through effective communication.


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Relationships

I don't think I need to elaborate much on this, as we all have some time or theother experienced certain roadblocks and voids in our relationships owing to a

lack of communication. Lack of communication in relationships result in

frustrations, misunderstandings, unrealistic expectations, guilt and can create

personal differences. It is difficult for people who share their lives with each other

to coexist for long without having regular and smooth communication oil the

machinery of the relationship. Relationship communication problems can only be

solved through active and effective communication.

As living beings, we need to express and understand the expressions of others.

The importance of communication cannot and should not be underestimated.

Sometimes, difficult situations in life can be resolved by just sitting down and

talking it out! Similarly, most personal, professional and social disasters can be

averted by maintaining clear, appropriate and unambiguous communication. All

we need is some effort on our part to identify and avoid barriers to effective

communication to make our lives and those around us better.


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The importance of communication in an

organization can be summarized as follows:

-Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the

employees about the task to be done, the manner they are performing

the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark.

-Communication is a source of information to the organizational members

for decision-making process as it helps identifying and assessing

alternative course of actions.

-Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individuals attitudes,

i.e., a well informed individual will have better attitude than a less-

informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and

various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding

employees attitudes.

-Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence

of another individual fosters communication. It is also said that one

cannot survive without communication.


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As discussed earlier, communication also assists in controlling

process. It helps controlling organizational members behaviour in

various ways. There are various levels of hierarchy and certain

principles and guidelines that employees must follow in anorganization. They must comply with organizational policies,

perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work

problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication

helps in controlling function of management.

-An effective and efficient communication system requiresmanagerial proficiency in delivering and receiving messages. A

manager must discover various barriers to communication,

analyze the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive

steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary responsibility of a

manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication

system in the organization...


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HOW TO COLLECT CUSTOMER

INFORMATION

-Collecting customer information is one of the best forms of marketing

you have. It gives you the ability to get in touch with people who have

already been to your brick-and-mortar store, who have experienced

your services or products, who have, essentially, already begun

building a relationship with you. And best of all? Its free. You may pay

out a little bit if you send postcards or a paper newsletter or flyer, butthe cost is minimal compared to paying for a radio or newspaper ad.

And if you start moving your customer interactions online, you can use

this customer information to stay in contact with your customers and

prospect list via email without any postage or printing cost.


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Step 1: Make it quick and easy.

Have a simple form handy, make lots and lots of copies, and leave it out in your retail

space. Dont make the form long; in fact, the shorter the better. Ask for the customers

name, email address, and (perhaps) phone number or mailing address. The name and

email address are the essentials, and you can just stick with those and get great results.

Step 2: Make it beneficial for the customer.

Give your list a name the Preferred Customer List or something along those lines and

give customers a clear, concise reason why they should join it. For exclusive offers. For

special discounts. For members-only events.

Step 3: Train your employees.

Create a short script and train every single employee to go through that script. It can be

very short, and very simple: Sir or Maam, would you like to sign up for our Preferred

Customer List? We just need your email address, and youll get access to exclusive offers

just for our Preferred Customers. Teach your employees to have the form and a pen

ready, and hold it out to the customer while they are asking the question. This smallphysical gesture makes it almost instinctive for the customer to reach forward. And no,

employees shouldnt be pushy either. If a customer declines, all that is needed is a polite

response: Well, maybe next time! Thanks for shopping with us!


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Step 4: Be an Example.

Let your employees see you going through that script whenever you ring out a customer,

answer a question, or call a customer about a special order. The script can easily be

followed over the phone; you or your employee will just need to take the information

verbally and write it down.

Step 5: Be True to Your Word

If youve offered exclusive deals or special events, follow through. A weekly email is best,

but at the least follow up with a monthly email offering a special deal, coupon, or event.

Make sure the folks on your mailing list understand that its exclusive; thats the value for

them.

Step 6: Get Feedback

Over time, your list will grow and youll have customers you get to know well. Use your

list to get feedback on everything from your products to your store appearance to the

kind of deals or events they would really like to see. Your customer list can quickly

become a very valuable, informal method of market research; and the market is yourideal customer, so you know the information is good. (Here is a cool idea on WHAT to

send to your e-mail list once you create it.)

The holidays are the perfect time to start collecting customer information, so get to it.

Create that form and start asking. Youll have a great way to follow up with all those new

customers you get shopping for holiday specials.


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Communication Aids

-Communication Aids are anything that help a person to communicate with others. It

could be paper based, like a letter board or it could be an electronic device, these are

known as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. Many AAC

devices are symbol based, and some are text based.

-Some people use Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCA) these tend to be higher

cost specialist devices dedicated to communication which may have no computer

functions available. They can include the Lightwriter, the Jive, Say-it-Sam, the M3, the

Springboard Lite, Vantage Lite and Vanguard etc. AbilityNet do not advise on VOCAs,

but would strongly recommend contacting an appropriate organisation or supplier for an

assessment, please see details at end of this factsheet.


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-The success of any communication aid relies on the user, the family,school and speech and language service working together. Choosingan aid needs to involve the person who uses it and those who will

support it; otherwise it can just end up confusingand frustrating the person trying to communicate.-Our main concern is to make sure that an individual has the rightdevice to meet their needs. However, getting the correct equipmentwith the correct software, mounted in the correct place, controlled witha suitable method, will rarely be more than 40% of a solution. Therest, and in our opinion, the most important part of any given solution,is the personalisation, training, and ongoing support required toenable the user to deliverthe conversation they require..

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Overdue! How to Collect From Tardy

CustomersPatience, confidence and a solid plan are keys to collecting what you're owed.

-Collecting money is a job most people shy away from. No one likes a confrontation or asking to be paid. Forsome people, being asked to pay a bill is insulting and can result in defensive behaviors. How can you collect

money from these customers without blowing up at them and losing your cool?

-Having a plan prior to making a collection call is crucial. Remember that the person is probably

embarrassed, stressed and will likely become defensive when you ask him or her to pay. Being prepared for

this will put you ahead of the game. A little patience and understanding go a very long way. When customers

are explaining to you why they have not paid or cannot pay, keep quiet and listen. No matter how much you

want to interrupt, give them a chance to explain. Sometimes they will calm down just because you listened

to them and they were able to vent. When they are done, address the problem and offer a solution--or a

couple, if you can.

-Doing these things lets customers know you care enough to listen to them and that you are giving them a

couple of options to solve the problem. When customers get to choose a way that works best for them--

even if it is to repay a debt--the chances of them sticking with it are much higher than if you call and demand

payment in full right now without taking their situation into consideration. Offering a solution or offering acouple of options and remaining calm will give you the best chance of collecting from a past-due customer

who might be yelling and swearing at you.

Anyone trying to collect money--even if the amount was agreed upon at the time of the sale--may be

required to negotiate. During this economy, many people may have had every intention of paying their bill in

full or on time, but circumstances beyond their control have gotten in their way. Most bill collectors and

business owners are not as effective at negotiating as they could be.


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Here are some things to remember when calling past-due customers:

Understand the negotiation process :Highly effective bill collectors recognize that

negotiations are a process. It requires an understanding of the billing, creditapproval and payment processes.

Focus on a win-win solution :Win-win means both parties feel like they benefited

during the collection process. Successful collectors look for opportunities tohelp customers solve problems. They also know when to be firm and limitwhat they do in order to reach an agreement that is acceptable for both

parties.

Be patient:Too many collectors try to go for the quick fix so they can get paid

and move on to the next account. Successful collectors know that patienceis a virtue and that rushing the collection process often leads to not getting

paid. Take the time to gather information before contacting customers, andthink carefully about possible solutions. This could be the critical step thathelps you avoid the major mistakes you make when you rush, some ofwhich can involve breaking the law.

f d C fid i k f l ll i b d ' k h


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Be confident:Confidence is key to successful collecting, but don't make the

mistake of being arrogant, rude or cocky. The truest confidence isdemonstrated by your belief in your ability to reach a win-win agreementwith the customer. This confidence is gained through experience, and themore debt collections you do, the better you become at it.

Develop your listening skills :People will tell you just about everything you need

to know if you ask the right questions or keep quiet long enough. The twobiggest mistakes a collector can make are not listening or interrupting acustomer. Sometimes all it takes is listening a little longer to get key

information that will assist in your collection efforts.

Being a successful bill collector is a skill that takes time, effort and energy:To

collect more money, you need to work at it, invest the time learning thedynamics and science of negotiating, and be firm. Every business will have

to make a collection call or send a collection letter at some point; these tipscan help make that a painless experience for you, your staff and yourcustomers.


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A Practical Guide to Handling

Customer Complaints

1. Complaints: A Critical Form of Communication

Complaints are a goldmine of information

Complaints offer businesses an opportunity to correct immediate problems. In

addition, they frequently provide constructive ideas for improving products,

adapting marketing practices, upgrading services, or modifying promotional

material and product information.

While occasional problems with service of merchandise are, to some extent,

inevitable, dissatisfied customers are not. Companies can learn to recover from

mistakes. A good recovery can turn angry, frustrated customers into loyal ones.

Recognizing the importance of responding fairly and efficiently to buyer

disappointment in the marketplace, many businesses have established

effective and innovative systems for resolving consumer complaints. Within any

industry, those companies with a positive philosophy and a reputation for fair

complaint-management have a competitive edge.


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A management philosophy that embraces customer satisfaction as a

primary goal of business, instead of defending the company in theface of complaints, can change the rules of the game for companies. Itshifts the emphasis from the costof pleasing a customer tothe valueof doing so, and trusts front-line employees to use their

judgment.British Airways' customer-relations department can claim to be a truechampion of the customer. The retention rate among those whocomplain to customer relations has more than doubled, while its returnon investment (the value of business saved plus increased loyalty andnew business from referrals relative to the department's total costs)has risen 200%. British Airways employees are never happy to have

service failures but are eager to hear about them when they occurbecause they know that ignorance is anything but bliss.

2 Wh i C l i t H dli


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2. Why is Complaints Handling

Important?

Generate Loyalty, Goodwill and Word-of-MouthBy talking back when they believe they have not received their money's worth, consumers give

businesses an opportunity to correct the immediate problem and restore goodwill. Experience

shows that consumers who complain about products and services continue to frequent the

businesses and buy the products they complain about ifthey believe the complaint was

resolved fairly.

Research into complaint behaviour reveals that only a fraction of dissatisfied consumerscomplains to business and, thereby, gives the company an opportunity to correct the problem.

There is evidence that some consumers do not complain because they are sceptical about

business's willingness or ability to resolve disputes fairly. Consumers simply withdraw their

patronage and criticize the company or the product to others.

Such findings underscore the importance to business of a complaint management system that is

well-publicized and easily accessible. An unregistered complaint may do as much harm as one

that is mismanaged or not resolved.

Careful complaint management can save business unwanted costs. For example, negative word-

of-mouth publicity from dissatisfied consumers means lost revenue and necessitates additional

investment in advertising to attract replacement customers.

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Careful complaint management can save business unwanted costs. Forexample, negative word-of-mouth publicity from dissatisfied consumers meanslost revenue and necessitates additional investment in advertising to attractreplacement customers.Complaints and complaint trends tell business how to do its job better byalerting management to problems that need prompt attention and correction.Furthermore, they indicate long-range opportunities for product innovation andproblem prevention. A well-planned system for screening and recordingcomplaint data can provide business owners and managers answers to suchimportant questions as the following:

Are products "oversold" or "over advertised?" Is advertising clearly understood? Are salespeople overzealous? Do product disclosures (such as labelling, warranty information and service

agreements) need to be improved? Are user's manuals clear, complete and easy-to-read? Would changing warranty coverage reduce complaints? Complaints also provide information about product quality: Are there opportunities for product improvements or better quality control?

Are there indications of safety defects that should be reported andcorrected, or that justify a recall?


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To get this valuable feedback, complaint-reporting mustgenerate information swiftly and systematically to theappropriate managers or departments. Initial screeningshould trigger immediate action, when necessary, andstatistical summaries should identify trends and long-

range courses of action.

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(Public Relation) Devi