To answer the age-old question of quality versus quantity, size does matter when it comes to in-house communications for small (fewer than 20 employees) organizations.
"Thinking Big, Staying Small," a recent study conducted by the San Francisco-based International Association of Business Communicators Research Foundation, shows
that, for oft-overlooked small operations, public relations usually falls into the hands of CEOs or top decision makers instead of those of a PR manager, leaving trained
communications professionals without a means of tapping into smaller markets.
"PR pros are struggling to be seen as a provider of information, not just a tactician, and to get a seat at the table. But at small organizations, [the CEO] is the table,"
says Dixie Shipp Evatt, who helped to put the research together.
Because CEOs who control PR handle the practice instinctively rather than formally, PR executives must establish a common language with the C-suite, first replacing the term
"public relations" with that of "communications." This helps assuage CEOs who may not like to be in the public eye, and it appeals to their need to build relationships within
their professional communities.
"Publicity is a two-sided coin -- the proactive and the reactive. The field is moving toward an evolution of public relations from publicity-seeking to relationship-
building," Evatt says. Small businesses -- both for-profit and not-for-profit -- still hold a potentially captive audience, especially in the 11-20 employee range (see
table).
Remember: Small shops don't have to be a fruitless market for PR professionals; it's just a matter of taking the right approach. "We have made assumptions on how PR
practitioners look at small enterprises," Evatt says. "But they're rich, potential sources that are really hungry for services and expertise."
Contact: Dixie Shipp Evatt, 909.336.5021, [email protected]