An approach that public relations practitioners utilize to measure a client’s effectiveness is benchmarking. Benchmarking is the continuous and systematic research process of measuring and organization and its products or services against the best practices of strong competitors and recognized industry leasers, in order to improve the organization’s performance. (Strategic Planning for Public Relations, Ronald Smith). This tool is invaluable to public relations practitioners for various reasons. The method may be used to perform a public relations audit or even to research into how other organizations have handled similar situations. I have completed various benchmarking tables this semester at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University to compare variables of competing businesses.
One of my clients, ATHLETE Shirts, was particularly challenging to compare with other businesses. This is because the product that this client manufactures, a new brand of t-shirt with customizable features, is new and innovative. I overcame this challenge by comparing it to a slew of competitors that did not fit its description exactly, ranging from completely customizable clothing manufacturers to athletic apparel companies. The venture was a success.
As a continuous and systematic process of measuring an organization and its product against its competitors, benchmarking aided me in identifying the areas of strengths and weaknesses my client possessed. I compared ATHLETE Shirts with its competitors in the areas of shirt quality, color, shipping options and even available payment methods. There were no stones left unturned. I was able to discover that my client possessed the advantage of having trend capabilities, meaning that because of its brand, it would be able to become a “fad” if properly communicated to consumers.
Comparing a business to its competitors ensures that it will be able to contend in every measurable aspect. This helps in improving the organization’s performance and searching for better ways to do the things the organization already does.
I love the benchmarking process, this allows the public relations practitioner to shine some light on certain things an organization may have been slacking on. Displaying or presenting the benchmark allows the client to see their need for improvements. One benefit when presenting it is the client getting the possible "wow" factor. Many people aren't receptive of criticism, so, seeing it rather than only hearing it will definitely hit home. Also, with your client being new, I think a benchmark will be ideal because it sets the company up with a level of expectancy that competitors are currently at.
ReplyDeleteShanley McCray
I agree with you Ronald. Benchmarking is a useful tool to measure a client against its competitors. You get to pick the most useful criteria about various companies to include in the table. Another useful aspect of the Benchmarking table is that it teaches you how to research effectively to get the desired results. Last semester I had a client that was innovative and I was unable to find companies exactly like it. I ended up using similar organizations and had to scour though mountains of data to get the information that I was looking for. The entire process was reminiscent of a "Where's Waldo" map but once I found the information I committed the research practices to memory.
ReplyDeleteMarcus Scott
Brian Gilmore
ReplyDeleteI've used benchmarking and didn't even know it. I actually think a lot of people have. I know I do it when I'm traveling and trying to decide which gas station to stop at. Depending on the time of day, I'll make sure that the place is well lit, whether or not they take debit cards, and most importantly the price. I like Racetrack gas stations because they have reasonable prices, well lit at night, and they're clean