Originally Published PR Week

If I had to guess, despite the tough economy, public relations research companies are probably doing pretty well these days.  When the bottom line gets extra scrutiny, everyone typically steps up to make sure they have quantifiable metrics in place to support their business operations.

Still, I would encourage a deeper dive.

Most chief communications officers are under increasing pressure to link communications performance to measurable business results.

It’s no surprise.  Most corporate executives I meet, from CEOs to heads of business units, cannot readily articulate how the public relations activity in their organizations measurably impact key business drivers.
Yes, they appreciate that public relations is important.  And the results they see, often in the form of media analysis, are generally positive.

But the language of media analysis is not the language of the C-suite, and few senior execs can make the case for public relations in a quantifiable, compelling way.

In a tight economy, every hour spent and every dollar allocated should go to business-impacting results…and that impact should be expressed and understood.

So, here are some ideas.

Identify the three or four major communications platforms that drive your company’s business performance.  These may include things like a reputation for innovation, employee engagement superior to all competitors or a game-changing product launch.  Then inventory all your communications activity and look at through the prism of these platforms.

What doesn’t fit, consider dropping.

What does fit now becomes the foundation of a rigorous exercise for you and your team.

Take your key platforms and succinctly articulate your communications objectives for each.  And be sure to link those objectives to business outcomes.

Now articulate your strategies for achieving these goals.  Avoid generic strategies like “media relations” or “third party support” and strive for powerful, relevant language like, “Direct, personal engagement with the industry’s top 20 web influencers to generate product trial and active endorsement.”

And now comes the hard part.  Creating metrics for each.

How will you regularly evaluate your progress against these goals in ways that link your work to the business?   Share of voice vs. your competitors may be a good start.

But I would submit most corporate executives don’t focus on share of voice.  They focus on customer preference.

So, force your group to go to the next step.  Why not execute brief quarterly surveys of brand preference and then create a visual metric that tracks share of voice and brand preference. Over time, track a linkage to the pattern.

Meaningful measurement requires a holistic view of communications; much communications happens outside the communications organizations purview.  A sales call is communications. A financial analyst report is communications.  A well-read blog outside your influence is communications.

If you want to be of value to your peers at the most senior level of the corporation, measurement must be holistic, focused on business outcomes and in the language of management.

Bob Feldman is CEO of Feldman & Partners, a communications management consulting firm.  Bob can be reached at bob@feldmanandpartners.com.  Bob’s monthly column focuses on management of the corporate communications function.