Strong Relationships

What does effective public relations boil down to? At its core, it is the ability to build and maintain strong relationships. If there was one main theme of my learning experiences in Barcelona at the PR Conference, that would be it.

The importance of relationships comes into play during times of crisis. If a company doesn’t have relationships formed ahead of time, they are in trouble when the crisis hits. They won’t have anybody to turn to and nobody to support them.

To give an example of the benefits of external relationships…lets look at a company that produces and distributes snack foods. Say the company makes a mistake in the production process of a large batch and as a result those that consume it fall sick for one week. In this case, hopefully the company has already built a strong relationship with the FDA. If so, the FDA will be more understanding of the whole situation.

Another good group to have as friends are journalists. I think you can figure out why you wouldn’t want to be on their bad side.

The owners of the Travel Inn do have a good reputation in the community and have reached out and built many relationships. One way that they have done this is through corporate social responsibility. Even though they do have a good reputation, there is always room for improvement. The Travel Inn can start by brainstorming and making a list of other organizations it wants to reach out to. And reaching out doesn't necessarily mean CSR. It can be something as simple as becoming aqcuanted with them and mingling with them at events.