Measurement Tools 101
The All-Purpose,
One-Size-Fits-All
Public Relations Measurement
Program Checklist
Everything you need to know
before you start any public relations measurement program. Don't
leave home without it.
This basic
information checklist could be the handiest, most convenient, and
most valuable tool in your public relations measurement quiver.
No
matter what project
or media you
are working with, these are all the things you should
know -- all the ducks to get in a row -- before you jump in the water.
Some
of these are easy, some are hard, and for some you've got
to think, maybe make some tough decisions. But, by the time you're
done your brain -- and your project -- will be up to speed. Plus
-- Bonus! --
it will be obvious to your client or
your
boss that
you've
not only got a clue, you've got the measurement bull by the horns.
And, yes, you can download
the Checklist here as a pdf.
The
Measurement Program Checklist
Step
1: What are your objectives?
1. What
are your organization's key goals for this year?
2. What
are your department's key goals for this year?
3. What
do you hope to accomplish with your measurement report?
- Get budget
approved
- Increase
budget
- Increase
head count
- Get more
internal support
- Get more
external support
- Justify
my existence
- Get a
raise
- Get promoted
- Change
the world
Step
2: What audiences are you targeting?
List
all that apply, not just the following common ones. (If in
doubt, put all the communications people in your organization
in a room and ask them.)
- media
- prospects
- customers
- partners
- employees
- governments
- NGOs
- communities
- investors
- thought
leaders
- international
community
- other
How does
a good relationship with your various target audiences
benefit your organization?
1. Increases
sales
2. Increases
attendance
3. Increases
donations
4. Increases
likelihood of desirable legislation passing
5. Increase
preference
6. Gets
messages out
7. Improves
employee retention
8. Improves
employee loyalty
9. Improves
customer retention
10. Improves
customer loyalty
11. Improves
likelihood of purchase
12. Attracts
new customers
13. Attracts
new prospects
14. Attracts
new donors/potential donors
15. Increases
amount of purchase
16. Increases
frequency of purchase
17. Boosts
stock price
18. Increases
profitability
19. Reduces
turnover
20. Decreases
time to market
21. Decreases
number of complaints
22. Decreases
absenteeism
Step 3: Set priorities
Prioritize
your audiences with this exercise: You have a total of 100 points
to allocate. Award those points to the audiences that you have identified
in order
of
their importance
to your organization, based on your answers
to questions in Step 2.
Step
4: Determine a benchmark
Who or
what keeps your boss/client up at night? In other words, what are
the competitive threats
or
perceived competitive threats to your organization?
Select from the following lists to determine
what you will be comparing your results
to:
- Competitor(s)
/ Peer companies
- Industry
benchmarks
- Yourself
over time
- Last
year's results
Step
5: Select the right measurement tool
If your
objectives (Step 1 above) include increase awareness, attitude
change or
education,
you will
need to conduct a survey.
Do you have email addresses for all
those you want to survey?
Do you have telephone numbers for all
those you want to survey?
If you
are seeking to measure sales and leads, you should be tracking web
site
traffic.
If you are measuring media relations
you will need to consider the following
criteria
in
your
measurement efforts:
- __Employer
of choice
- __Investment
of choice (financial strength)
- __Vendor
of choice (good/best value for the money)
- __Good
corporate citizen
- __Environmentally
responsible
- __Global
leadership
- __Other: _______________________________________________________
- Prominence
- Organization
is mentioned in the headline, photograph or caption
- Organization
is mentioned in the top 20% of the article
- Organization
is mentioned in the bottom 80% of the article
- Dominance
- Organization
is the focal point
- Organization
is one of several mentioned
- Organization
is only mentioned in passing
- Other
_________________________________________
- Subjects
(note all that apply)
- Financials
- Management
changes
- New
product launch (specify product names)____________________________
- Coverage
of crisis or scandal (specify) ________________________________
- Merger
or acquisition
- Customer
- Corporate
philanthropy
- Industry
- Other
_________________________________________
- Influencers
and key spokespeople
- Company
spokespeople (provide names)
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
- Competitors'
spokespeople (provide names if available)
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
- Industry
analysts
- Financial
analysts
- Government
officials
- Educators
- Other
Other
considerations:
- Approximately
how many clips a month appear about you and the competition?
(If
you are currently receiving more than 250 articles per
month you may
want to consider computer-aided content analysis.)
- How
frequently
do others in your
company report
results?
- How
often would
you/your boss/your client like
to see
a PR
measurement report?
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