Page 2 - Lesson Note 8

However, an important limitation of publicity is that as a medium of promotion, it is not within

the control of a marketing firm. The media would cover only those pieces of information,

which are news worthy and which symbolize some achievement in the field. Thus, a firm can’t

use publicity to actively promote its products.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Managing public opinion of an organization is an important task which can be performed by the
marketing department. The business needs to communicate effectively to customers, suppliers,

and dealers, since they are instrumental in increasing the sales and profit.

Besides those who come into direct contact with the organization or its products, there are

other members of the general public whose voice or opinion is equally important. This public
may be interested in the company and its product and have an impact on the business ability to

achieve its objectives.

Thus, it becomes imperative to manage public opinion and the company’s relation with the

public on a regular basis. Therefore, public relations involve a variety of programmes designed

to promote or protect a company’s image and its individual products in the eyes of the public.

The business relates with a number of groups including suppliers, shareholders, intermediaries,
activist groups, and the government.

For example, active support of middlemen is needed if the firm wants to survive in a

competitive selling environment. Similarly, consumer activist groups need to be satisfied

because they can impose restriction on the sales of the firm’s products directly by urging
customers to refrain from buying them or through the imposition of laws.

Most organizations, business or otherwise nowadays, have a separate department to manage

public relations. They may also utilize the services of any outside public relations agency. Their

main task is to disseminate information and build goodwill about the business. Concrete steps

are to be taken to monitor the attitude of the general public and generate positive publicity.