By Bruce Jeffries-Fox
PR measurement is moving forward, but at a glacial pace. Surveys consistently show that only a small percentage of PR execs use measurement, although the proportion is slowly
growing.
Digging into the numbers, however, we find that for most organizations this "research" is simple clip counting. Ladies and gentlemen: We can -- and we must -- do a lot
better.
Without research - and at least a few standard measurements endorsed by the industry -- PR is at huge disadvantage versus other marketing disciplines. It's important that PR
quickly makes real forward progress in this area, but there are several obstacles in the way. Here are some suggestions to help clear the logjam:
Management and measurements: Have you ever seen a car whose dashboard has no meters or gauges? The reason for all the instruments, of course, is to tell you the state of your
car's engine. Without them, you'd have a heck of a time figuring out when it's time to get gas, add oil, check the fluids, etc. Keep an eye on them and you'll probably keep
rolling along for some time. But ignore them at your own peril.
Running PR programs is just like running a car engine. Your programs are complex: they have a lot of parts and everything has to work together to deliver the desired end
results.
Without any meters or gauges, you're flying blind. Maybe some parts of your programs are working great, but others aren't doing well at all. If you have no way to monitor the
situation, you cannot make mid-course corrections. You can't actively manage the situation. You have to wait until the conclusion of your program and hope for the best. This is
highly risky and time-consuming.
In these extremely demanding times you need to do everything possible to maximize your chances of success. Research can improve your speed of learning what's working and what
isn't. You can quickly re-group, re-write, re-deploy and have a much greater chance of having your program deliver what you promised.
Accountability: While PR is making only sluggish progress with adopting measurement techniques, demands for accountability are escalating rapidly. The gap is widening and
this, sooner or later, is going to be a huge problem for PR. Either we will have our budgets cut, be left out of key decision-making groups within our organization, or be
marginalized in some other painful and disappointing way. Measurement tools exist to demonstrate our value to the bottom line. It's time we pick them up and start using
them.
Why aren't more people using PR research: Every time a new survey comes out showing how few PR people use measurement programs this question keeps on popping up--a little more
loudly each time and with clearly increasing frustration. I've audited a number of blue-ribbon brainstorming sessions lately to hash out a reply. The unfortunate truth is that
the reasons remain pretty much the same as they've always been: money, time, fear and not knowing how to start.
Most of these reasons are self-explanatory. But there is one I'd like to address because it points to an area where we can quickly and easily make substantial progress:
Standardized measurements and the way ahead: Many research colleagues cringe at the term "standardized measurements," so I'm well aware that I'm walking on thin ice by even
addressing this topic. But the fact is, a great many people cite "lack of standardized measurements" as the primary reason they don't do research. Research gurus look down on
this whole concept because they know about the many forms of research, and "one size fits all" doesn't make sense. They say that such research can't be reduced to a cookbook.
Every situation is different and requires an appropriate research design.
Being a research weenie myself, I can understand and sympathize with these views. But I can also see how they feed right into the layman's reluctance to enter the research
thicket because there are no standardized measurements to light the way.
Let me offer a suggestion that perhaps can move the needle: develop a short list of tried-and-true "dashboard" measurements for each of the main areas of PR activity, including
media relations, community relations, employee communication, philanthropy and customer relations. In each of these areas research tools have been developed to support the
effort. Throughout the years and across organizations a great many research approaches have been employed, many of which have proved highly useful.
In every area of PR there exists research tools designed to help PR professionals do a better job of managing the function and demonstrating the value of PR programs to larger
business objectives. It would not be difficult for an experienced group of PR researchers to put together a short list of standardized measurements. Each PR area would probably
have more than one standardized measurement, so that clients or agencies can select those most appropriate to any given situation.
This approach would address the concerns of the research community and, perhaps more important, could go a long way toward client advocacy. What's more, the IPR's Commission
on Measurement and Evaluation (of which I am a member) has the credentials and the energy to accomplish this task in a relatively short period. If you agree, please contact the
Institute at http://www.Instituteforpr.com, click on the "contact us" button and let them know you would like to see the Commission take up the
charge. Damn the torpedoes.
Bruce Jeffries-Fox is president of Jeffries-Fox Associates, a Cape May, N.J.-based PR firm. He can be reached at 609.884.8740, [email protected].