Why do I need public relations?

Public Relations is the sustained effort of communicating with publics, or groups of people that matter to the company, in order to gain awareness and favour in their eyes.

Public relations helps to create goodwill and credibility. It involves building the image of the company through developing better relationships with its publics. Publics include employees, customers, partners, shareholders, potential investors, media, special interest or lobby groups, government agencies and also the general public.

It is important to understand the difference between advertising and public relations. The table on the next page summarises the differences between these two marketing tools.

Act on It

Better public relations
Who are the groups of people with whom you need to build goodwill and credibility? Identify who they are and how you can communicate better with them. 

1.  What do I want to accomplish?

Define your goals.

2. Who needs to know about your organization?

Identify the stakeholders who have an impact on your business.

3. What is the message they need to hear?

Determine who you need to convey to your stakeholders.