Human Resource Knowledge

Importance of Public Relations in business

Peter Drucker, the well-known management guru, had once remarked that one of the top most priorities of a business leader is to network, socialize and maintain great PR (Public relations). It’s all about great relationships that you maintain with your clients, suppliers, shareholders, employees and every other person you come in contact with.

Our ancient sages and who can be considered as earlier management thinkers during kings’ regimes used to propagate the same idea of public relations advising the kings and other important people to establish contacts with forest chieftains, frontier-chiefs and chief officials in the cities and the countryside to build a network for getting information and always be prepared for war or peace and rule according to the likes of people for the welfare of the kingdom.

But how to build a network and maintain contact is an art every leader has to develop in the modern kingdoms of corporate companies. Here it is not for war or peace or people but for business, its scope and market competition. In this article we are giving a few suggestions to maintain PR with all concerned.

Attend meetings: For a CEO, not a single day should pass without at least meeting one new person. He can attend business conferences, training programs or even one-to-one sittings with important people. In addition to making contacts, he would even start gathering knowledge and experiences of others.

Keep in Touch: Collecting contact details may not be enough. Most of us come from various conferences with a pile of visiting cards without doing anything with it. Hence, a follow-up with each important person after the initial meeting is a must. Think of the business possibilities with each person you meet and work out proposal along those lines.

The two-way Approach: Where most businessmen go wrong is just thinking of the benefit that only you will get from the new found person. Rather, think in which way you will be able to help them. At times, you can give a tip or suggestion that will scale up their business. Help them and, probably, they will help you when you need them.

The long-term approach: In human relationships, ‘time’ is important. And in business, ‘timing’ is important. But to get to the right timing, you have to spend enough time. Never spoil any potential business relationship just because it may not appear to be immediately beneficial. One has to always think long-term. Take it slow but sure. You never know, a person who seems small today may become a giant tomorrow, while a giant of today may be on the streets later.

Always remember that while leadership is an art, business leadership is a far superior art. It requires the understanding of people, understanding their minds and also understanding the various factors that fulfill each person. Thus, in business, PR cannot be done by just outsourcing it to an agency. It’s personal involvement that requires continuous time and effort.

Labels: HRM

posted by Paresh @ 11:47 AM