How advertising can contribute towards better public relations between business enterprise and customers
The business enterprise
needs to improve its relationship among the customers, shareholders, and
workers of the enterprise. Public relation functions are broad one. The
improvement of image building activities of the enterprise, whether done
through advertising or otherwise, is termed as Public relations
activities.
The enterprise should make the customer feel comfortable and confident
about their product, by doing so they can maximize their productions and
increase their profit margins. The public should not feel that enterprises
are merely profit-oriented and they are exploiting the customers. Moreover
the management of the enterprise should take care of the shareholders
and the workers to feel comfortable, they should focus on to eliminate
the poor image of the enterprise within and outside the organization.
Thus, building up good relations is dependent on the behavior of the workers
of the enterprise. For example, when a customer meets a sales person of
that enterprise who is marketing a particular product of that concern,
the customer would form an image of the enterprise by his personality,
mannerism towards the customers, gesture, confidence level etc.,
The good image of an enterprise can be affected by the manner in which the telephone operator attends answers the queries to the customers, how the information is passed to other levels of the enterprise, attitude and behavior of the workers in the enterprise.
All marketing activities, particularly that of salesman, shareholders of the enterprise, and the advertisement departments should be improved, which will in turn be helpful in building a good image of the enterprise. It is therefore for a business enterprise good products as well as better public relations among the workers and, customers will lead the company in a right path. A sustained public relations programme can alone depict the enterprise as a good and useful citizen.
Public relationship includes behavior towards different groups of people with whom the enterprise comes into contact in one way or the other. It is important small as well as large business. How advertising plays a key role in improving the relationship between the enterprise and the customers?
The main aim of advertising
is to make known and build confidence in products manufactured by the
enterprise and there by improving the selling of the product and not to
create awareness among the public about the product, other important aspect
in advertising is to improve the image of the enterprise.
Some enterprises forget to build a good image of the enterprise, which
also requires communication, this is where advertising plays a key role
for the development of the enterprise. The advertisement should focus
on the importance of the enterprise in the industry and the role it plays
for the development of that industry, it can also indicate the enterprises
achievements in research and product development in the past, thereby
helping the customers, it should focus the enterprise as a good citizen,
neighbors.
The advertising programme should be very efficient that it can convey the importance and role of the enterprise. It should be made clear and should be made known to all connected with selling of the product. A proper plan should be formulated which contains the details for which type of customers it has been developed, appeal to be made to the customers, the cost factor, and the expected results should be prepared. By coordinating the productivity and advertisements, resource wastage can be eliminated. The people who are aimed, can be divided into five groups, these groups of people are the several publics in public relation.
(a) Consumer Relations
Consumer goodwill perhaps the most important aspect for the development
of the enterprise, there cannot be a business without the consumer. Experts
say, It is better to lose sale than to lose a customer. The
enterprise should find what are needs of the customer, how it can meet
their demands, and whether the customer is satisfied with product or not.
A favourable image must be created about the product of the enterprise
as well as the enterprise itself among the public.
The other main aspect is Selling of the enterprise itself
is just as important selling a product; this is often forgotten by the
management of the enterprise. Good image of the enterprise is built up
through both action as well as advertising. The consumer relations
activities include proper information regarding the enterprise history,
policies, objectives and more particularly what the enterprise has done
to the public and more particularly what it has done in social welfare.
(b) Dealer relations
Business enterprise which produces large amount of products rely on the
dealers who sell their products, so every manufacturer thus wants to motivate
his distribution channels to sell more of his own products. Here the manufacturer
should view the dealers as customers, rather than mechanical entities
for the flow of his products.
Thus good dealer relationship can only be promoted if the manufacturer is fair to his dealers in his behaviours. The enterprise should provide the dealer to sell their products by adequately advertising in his areas, it must offer some trade discounts and cash discounts, provide display facilities for the dealers.
(c) Employee Relations
The good enterprise has to build up a better relationship between the
management and its employers, and there by building up loyalty among the
employers and motivate them for higher productivity and better performance.
The enterprise should provide career planning for their employees, and
reward their work based on merit.
Appropriate information about the enterprise should be given to employees. Thus attitude and behaviours of the employees within and outside the enterprise play key role.
(d) Shareholder
Relations
Shareholder is a person who invested money in the enterprise, so he expects
a reasonable return of his money invested in the enterprise. Good shareholder
relation cannot be built up if the enterprise is not fair enough to them
in the declaration of dividends in particular. The amount of dividend
will also have an effect the prices in the market.
Thus if an enterprise wishes to improve the shareholders relations, its management can think of many different types of programmes in its public relations activity.
(e) Community Relations
Many members of the community are its shareholders, consumers, dealers
or employees. Thus previous types of public relation activities are in
a sense tied up with each other for building up better community relations.
However, it is advisable to find the need of the community and no to force
on them something, which they do not want.
Thus, community relations activities must be geared to he actual needs needed by the community and should not be just a form of glorification of the company. However it can go still further, by donating to charities, providing educational facilities etc.
Better public relations between the publics and the enterprise would enhance the growth and increase the profits of the enterprise. Hence management should formulate new ideas, which help to make better relations within and outside the enterprise. They can push forward themselves to higher levels in the industry.
Coordination among the employees, a good communication system also plays key role in projecting the enterprise to the publics and develop good image. The policies or the other factors, which affect a good relationship of the enterprise, should be eliminated for the enterprise policies itself.