Relationship Management Theory

1. Relationship Management Theory By: Tori, Sarah & Katie

2. Agenda • Brief explanation of the emergence of this theory • Definition and content involving RMT • How RMT contributes to the practice and management of public relations • A study that exemplifies the theory • Discussion of recent PR campaign • Interactive activity

3. Four pivotal developments spurred the emergence of the relational perspective • (1) Recognition of the central role of relationships in the study and practice of public relations • (2) Re-conceptualizing public relations as a management function

4. Four pivotal developments spurred the emergence of the relational perspective • (3) Emergence of measurement strategies, relationship components and types of organization- public relationships and linkage of organization-public relationships to public attitudes, perceptions, knowledge and behavior • (4) The construction of models that accommodate relationship antecedents, process, and consequences of organization-public relationships

5. Relationship Management • Effectively managing organizational relationships around common interests and shared goals, over time, results in mutual understanding and benefit for interacting organizations and publics

6. Important focus on…. • Placed the notion that the appropriate domain of PR is relationships • Building mutual benefit • Evaluates PR in terms of outcomes instead of outputs • Creating a framework for scholars and practitioners

7. Organizational Relationships: • Are transactional and dynamic: they change over time • Goal oriented • Have antecedents and consequences • Can be analyzed in terms of relationship quality, maintenance strategies, relationship type and those involved in the relationship • Driven by the perceived needs and wants of interacting organizations and publics • The continuation of an organization-public relation depends on whether those needs and expectations are met • Described as: personal, professional and community

8. Evaluative Relationship Indicators • Control mutuality • Trust • Satisfaction • Commitment • Exchange relationship • Communal relationship

9. How does this theory relate to PR? • Represents a fundamental change in the function and direction of PR • Focus moves from focus of “communication” to “relationships” • Movement away from traditional impact measures and toward evaluation of PR initiatives • Strategic planning = central in decision-making process • Bigger picture versus small details when assessing problems • Empowers the PR function • Begins to answer those long-standing questions concerning the value of public relations to an organization

10. What does this theory mean for you? • Proficiency in messaging AND strategic planning & evaluation • Understanding of management principles (for those who aspire to higher-level management positions) • Students must be prepared to develop and manage organization-public relationships in addition to proficiency in traditional communication skills

11. Relationship building as a retention strategy (Related Study) • Shift of enrollment Strategies to building mutually beneficial relationships • Results: • overall satisfaction was strongly related and university–student relationship attitudes were substantially related to the criterion • What the results mean for PR

12. “Practitioners cannot expect to build lasting relationships by adopting a “one size fits all orientation when communicating with key public members” (Brunig, 2000)

13. Aspen Heights = Relationship Management Example

14. Activity • “Organizational involvement in and support of the community in which it operates can engender loyalty toward an organization among key publics when that involvement/support is known by key publics [and] what emerges is a process in which organizations must: • (1) Focus on the relationships with their key publics • (2) Communicate involvement of those activities/programs that build the relationship to members of their key publics • (Botan, 471-472)

15. Conclusion • Using communication as a tool to build mutually beneficial relationships between organization and key publics • The focus of PR should be the management of relationships not individual communication strategies • PR should not involve a one-size-fits-all approach • Evaluation based on relational and behavioral outcomes (bigger picture) vs. communication outputs

16. Sources • Beckett, K. (2012). Harrisonburg’s first gated community for students moves in. The Breeze. Retrieved from http://www.breezejmu.org/news/article_31df4ef4-1346-11e2-9fcd-001a4bcf6878.html • Botan, C. H. & Hazleton, V. (2006). Public Relations Theory II. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. • Bruning, S.D. (2000). Examining the role that personal, professional, and community relationships play in respondant relationship recognition and intended behavior. Communication Quarterly, 48(4), 1-12. • Stephen D, B. (n.d). Relationship building as a retention strategy: linking relationship attitudes and satisfaction evaluations to behavioral outcomes. Public Relations Review, 2839-48. doi:10.1016/S0363-8111(02)00109-1