Public Relations: a Method to Organize and Boost Sales

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Introduction

In any business situation, the public relations role is to harmonize the internal and external workings of an organization. The end goal is usually to promote the returns on sales and attract more customers.

Overall Goals for Public Relations

To enhance the corporate image of the organization and boost the sales of the products and services.

Target Audience

Customers/clients
Employees
Business Partners
Distributors
Suppliers
Surrounding community

Objectives

Enhance smooth flow of ideas
Recognize all our clients’ support
Favor organization’s growth and expansion within one year
Create a strong customer base.
Double the company’s profits, from 5% to 10%

Tactics

Introduce training programs to staff members.
Invest in the most current technologies for example communication networks
Acquire loans from the bank to promote expansion.
Print brochures, catalogues, posters and other promotional materials to be distributed to the stakeholders. Send press releases.
Hold workshops, seminars and talk shows to be aired on TV channels.
Invite CEOs of the best performing companies to address employees and other stakeholders regarding the new projects.
Produce variety of products to reach a wiser client base.

Strategies

Design an all inclusive marketing plan
Come up with new promotional strategies
Diversity the products portfolio
Enhance business relations with other companies.
Cater fir the extra budget.

Activities

Set up a time frame within which to hold seminars, workshops, and other events.
Write memos to all the staff informing them about the meeting.
Come up with a list of the employees to undergo training.
Identify the venue where all the meetings will be held.
Decide the designs, colors, and contents of all the promotional materials.
Set the date when the seminars, workshops and training should begin.
Identify the CEO to be invited and the company he will come from

Evaluation

Review the projects undertaken monthly.
All the invoices and cash transactions made should be made available.
Regular reports and recommendations should be made indicating the failures and successes of the projects.
Inquiring from the target audience
Making comparisons between the current output and the previous outputs.
Conduct employees’ performance appraisal regularly.
Open a suggestion where all employees customers and other stakeholders acan give their

Materials

To carry out the training and to provide promotional materials, the materials needed are as follows:

Stationery
Instruction manual
Pens
Handouts
Posters
Catalogues
Brochures

Budget Items

The cost training
Payment for the speakers
Production cost to cover posters, brochures, and catalogues
Costs of other stationeries
Traveling costs
Accommodation
Miscellaneous expenditure

Formal research will be carried out whereby questionnaires will be sent out to the retail members, while sale members smaller-less profitable companies and the public at large to gather their opinions regarding national Association of Security System Distributors’ products and services. Another informal research will be conducted to acquire information and opinions that customers had regarding the security systems being offered. The method to be used is informal interviews, for instance asking customers a few questioned when selling products or services to them. (Timothy, p56)

Company Goals

Ensure the company receives an award as the best In terms of corporate identity and image.
Double the sales in both wholesale and retail, which is domestic retail sales, should raise from 12% to 24% and the wholesale market should rise from 27% to 54%.
Endure the following services continue to be the member’s most valued services. New Trends in Security Technology (The Association’s Trade Journal), the annual trade show, and the product certification program.
Conduct extensive awareness campaign to make the political Action Committee popular among the members.
Engage in an aggressive marketing campaign and advertising to boost the sale of residential security systems.
Liaise with the media houses and ensure the company is given positive publicity and coverage.
Ensure all customers receive proper advice on the benefits of residential security systems.

Key publics to be targeted in the communication plan

Wholesalers of residential security systems
Domestic retailers of residential security systems
Smaller less-profitable companies and larger more profitable one
Staff members of national Association of security system Distributors
General public /consumers.

Short-term objective

Create awareness regarding the benefits of using residential security systems.

Long term objective

Establish 80/20 rule, that is, concentrate on the 20% who can account for the highest profits and produce quality.

Strategies to be Adopted

Expand public relations program to address the needs of the general public/consumers and cater for them adequately. Invite a speaker to address the need of the consumers and the best way to go about it.
Advertising
Embark on an aggressive marketing campaign promotional strategy and door too door selling to boost the sales and the image of the company. (Roy, p. 345) This will involve diversification of the products on sales, such as residential security systems. Produce promotional materials such as T-shirts, caps, and nice sacks to promote and enhance the corporate identity of the company, design adverts to be placed on the local TV stations and radio stations, design posters and other handouts to be distributed among the locals. Employ advanced technology in the manufacture of all products. (Scott, p. 34)

The general public

The general public constitutes the largest percentage of our customers. They are the number one customers of our products and services. They, therefore, require quality goods and services and they should also be availed to them at affordable prices. This will ensure customers retention since they will gain satisfaction from our products. Quality customer service standards will be maintained at all times to enhance customer satisfaction and make them come back for more products and services. (Timothy, p. 89) It is also important to employ the latest technology to produce a state of the art security systems to attract more customers besides retaining the old ones.

Steps to expand public relations program

To expand the public relations program, a speaker will be invited to speak to the staff members and chat a way forward for them. The speaker will also address the customers and explain to them the importance of buying a residential security system and discard all the myths that security systems are not one hundred percent efficient. The speaker will be the CEO of a security systems company or any other company that has public relations program.
To embark on marketing, promotional, and advertisements. The company will require promotional items such as T-shirts pens, posters to attract more customers. Take advantage of events such as trade shows to familiarize themselves with the people and introduce their products.
The company can make use of billboards, stickers and give out free samples to the buyers. They should also provide after-sales services for every customer who buys a residential security system.
During the public events a leading public relations practitioner can be invited to address the audience.
During trade shows and promotional campaigns the director of public relations can be invited to address the audience. She should be familiar with the entire all the strategies put in place and should thoroughly address the publics’ needs.
Another spokesman who can be invited is the representative of the public relations committee to sensitize the people and explain the types of technologies being employed, for example, the latest billboards and explain exactly how after-sales services will be done.

Out of the $300,000 allocated for the project, $ 100000 will be allocated to promotional materials and advertisement; $50,000 will be set aside to cater for staff training and for the purchase of materials such as stationery to be used for training. $ 50,000 will be allocated for billboards and $100,000 will carter accommodation, traveling expenses out of pocket expenses, staff or volunteer time, and in-kind donations plus other miscellaneous expenses.

Time-Table and Task list

6^th Dec 2007:- Write memos to all the staff members indicating the problems and steps the company is taking.

7^th Dec 2007:- Convene a meeting to be attended by all employees and key publics set the date when training programs, seminars, and workshops will begin. This will be chaired by the company director. Identify the speakers who will address the audience. Decide on the designs of the promotional items.

8^th Dec 2007:- Purchase all materials needed to kick off the training program. List down the names of the participants; identify the venue in which the program will take place.

9^th Dec 2007:- Present all the cash receipts and invoices to the public relations committee.

10^th Dec 2007:- Set up the venue, where the program will be conducted. The preparations will be overseen by one staff member.

11^th to 15^th Dec 2007: Conduct the first session of the training program, to enhance the image of the company. One professional will facilitate it.

16^th Dec 2007: The participants are given time to write reports of their first sessions and had them over to the facilitators ready for the next and the final session of training.

17^th Dec to 22^nd 2007: The second and final session of the program begins. It will be facilitated by another professional and the guest speaker will be Bill Gates and he will address the participants of 22^nd December 2007.

30^th March, 2008: The four staff members and the public relation committee will met too review the progress program. This will involve short term objectives.

30^th June, 2008: Long term objectives will be evaluated at this time and they will be evaluated by the public relations committee and they will be assisted by the four public relations professionals.

Success

The success of the short-term and long-term objectives will be evaluated after at least three months when the public relations committee meets. For the evaluation process, reports will be used to determine how the program has been received. (Scott, p670) All the transactions made will be indicated by cash receipts and invoices which will be verified by the members of the committee. The short-term objectives are supposed to be achieved within the first three months and the long-term objectives should be achieved at least within six months. If the plans will not be successful, plans to review the program will be made and changes implemented immediately.

Conclusion

The overall goals will be determined by the results after three years. The results achieved will be measured as well as the performance of the company. The actors will mainly be professionals and members of the committee. An analysis will also be done on the quality of the security systems produced by the company.

References

Scott, M. Effective Public Relations, Amazon Publishers, 2004.
Roy, L. Advertising and Public Relations Law. Harvard University Press, 2003.
Timothy, C. It’s Not Just PR: Public Relations in Society. Palgrave Publishers, 2002.

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