Ask PR people about research to plan new programs or assess results and they'll tell you they're not doing much, but would like to be doing more. The reasons cited: cost; belief that some results need no explanation; or uncertainty about useful measures of some of the areas in which PR deals.
But without research, it's hard to know the type of programs that are needed to get the reputational, marketing or other benefits that management wants. And when looking at programs in PR terms such as awareness, understanding or attitudes, without some pre-and post-program research, any assessment as to whether programs did or did not work, and why, is guesswork.
Why Isn't Research Being Done?
A tight budget is probably the most common reason PR people say they don't do research.
Walter Barlow, president of opinion and market research firm Research Strategies Corp., Princeton, N.J., also believes that some PR executives shy away from research because they fear management will use research results to criticize them. "There is a type of PR executive who doesn't want to be controlled," he says. "Research 'threatens' them, because 'someone can use it against them.' "
Barlow also believes that many PR executives are unaware of the many possible research tools available - some of which are relatively low-cost.
Some Cost-Effective Approaches
Despite common perceptions, PR research does not require hiring a nationally known research firm and spending $50,000 or more. And a good deal of research can be done for much less than that.
Here are eight affordable ways to do research:
1. Divert money from less critical programs so you can measure critical ones;
2.Use existing research. Particularly for marketing programs, there often is existing research that marketing and sales groups have developed.
3. Tap other functions in your company. For example, insurer USAA's media relations department has its customer service department track prospect inquiries by asking in which publications and media reports they heard about the San Antonio, Texas-based company.
4. Conduct secondary research. A dive into the Internet or other sources often turns up useful information. Also, market research companies, such as Find/SVP, can conduct thorough scans of thousands of databases.
5. Use omnibus surveys. In these national surveys, which are conducted at regular intervals by many of the nationally known research firms, a company can create and place a single close-ended question for as little as $750, and an open-ended question for about $1,000, says Barlow of Research Strategies.
6. Try syndicated studies. Barlow also points out that often a group of companies will collaborate on a major research progrm of common interest if the cost is greater than any single company would like to shoulder.
7. Conduct opinion leader surveys. Qualitative surveys of a manageable number of experts in certain fields can yield a wealth of information that supplements more quantitative - and more expensive - surveys of customers or another primary audience, points out Madeline deVries of DeVries Public Relations, New York.
8. Use tollfree numbers. For certain major media stories, USAA is able to convince journalists to list a 1-800 number for the company. "We'll give them a specific 800 number for that article" to allow tracking, says PR staffer Richard Erickson.
Start Slowly, But Start
When all is said and done, it makes sense to perform at least some research, even if it's not at the level you would like to do. "I say if you've got a budget of $3,000,000, we'll spend one percent for one year, and then gradually work up to five percent as a good target," says Research Strategies' Barlow. "That five percent will make the 95 percent go so much farther." (Research Strategies, 609/683-4408; DeVries, 212/891-0400; USAA, 210/498-2176)
Tom Moore, former editor of PR News, operates Corporate Communication Studies, a Rockville, Md., firm that produces reports for and about the communications function. He can be reached at 301/279-9455 or by e-mail, at [email protected]