If executives in the C-Suite, which often is missing a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief Communications Officer (CC), actually valued PR, companies would:
- Spend more resources on reputation management. A Deloitte study showed that when your reputation is damaged, there is a corresponding loss of revenue, brand value, customers and/or stock price,
- Seek the counsel of their communications staff before making any major decision to learn of potential reactions and consequences, and
- Have a crisis communications plan that’s updated at least yearly.
Instead, you see companies continue to make boneheaded mistakes that make you wonder, what in the world were they thinking?
A recent article titled “Lesson Plan: Business Leaders Still Don’t Understand Strategic Communication” sheds some light. Research conducted by the authors showed that despite the recent introduction of strategic communication coursework to the MBA programs at various universities, the students:
- Often do not see the strategic dimensions of communication,
- Often don’t see a clear connection between communication activities and business results, and
- Have little understanding of the importance of related strategic communication issues, such as corporate social responsibility and internal communications.
For PR practitioners, this means we’re still fighting for a seat at the table, and we may continue to do so for another generation.
Security breaches in the healthcare industry are on pace for more than one per day, according to a recent