What are the best practices for managing public perception?
“Public perception forms the collective opinion or social consensus about a brand or organization, significantly influencing its success”~ Sola Abulu
Public perception is how an organization, business or institution is perceived by the public which can positively or negatively influence their reputation and ability to achieve business or organizational goals. This makes it very important for communications professionals to ensure a positive perception of the brand. When it is a business that sells products, this can be achieved by working to ensure consumer satisfaction with the goods to avoid negative news about the product to shaping a negative perception of the brand.
Examples of a positive public perception of a brand are when people testify to how effective their products are, how well they deliver their services or how professional and timely they engage in customer complaints. On the other hand, an example of a negative public perception is when the brand has the opposite of all the above-stated to the extent that it affects the achievement of business goals.
Businesses and organizations are faced with the need to manage public perception after a crisis. During a crisis, negative sentiments escalate in the media and amongst important stakeholders which can affect the brand’s reputation and license to operate. When crisis communications teams are able to promptly de-escalate the crisis and reassure the public of their unalloyed commitment to serve by employing effective crisis communications strategies, it becomes important to also manage the public’s perception ensuring that trust is restored in the brand again.
One way in which organizations and businesses can manage the public’s perception, whether before, during or after a crisis is by ensuring transparent and timely communication. We have looked further at how public perception can be managed positively in different communications practices.
Managing perception in corporate communications
In the energy sector for example, business and communications teams can manage the public’s perception based on the organization’s performance, positively managing internal and external relationships and communicating with stakeholders effectively on the happening in the organization that is of concern to them.
The image below provides useful reputation themes for managing public perception in the energy sector. You may also find this article by Sola Abulu useful if you are in this sector.
Managing perception in the public-policy communications
In public-policy communication, it is important to note that the primary audience is the general public and citizens of the country. It is very common among public-policy communicators to pay less attention to public perception as they often practice a one-way communication approach rather than an audience-centric approach that bears into consideration how they public may feel about government policies. To achieve a positive public perception of governments and their policies will require a more strategic approach to communication and an audience-centric focus in communicating public policies.
Managing perception in political communications
“As far as I can tell, majority of political players are very strategic in terms of fulfilling their personal ambitions and ensuring their career longevity and influence within the public space. What is left unattended is the commitment to the people.” ~ Sola Abulu
A way to manage positive public perception in political communications will require that political communicators are ethical in communications and are not given to the norm of lies and propaganda which often affects how the public perceives candidates. There should be a deliberate approach to ensuring that the commitment to electorates are well attended to and communicated.
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Sola Abulu & Associates is a strategy and communications consulting and training firm committed to enabling businesses, brands and organizations to achieve their objectives through strategic communications, organizational effectiveness and reputation risk management
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