Importance of Public Relations for Organizations

In the current working environment of the corporations and the intense competition between the organizations, have increased the significance of an organization’s image in the market. The public image in the current scenario formulates around 63% of the company’s value. The decision of the customers is based on this value and thus, it is very crucial for the organization to exhibit themselves as a good organization.

Also, if there is any mishap in the organization, then the reputation of the organization is jeopardized and many a time the consequences are so harsh the organizations find it difficult to survive and are doomed. In the current case of Telsa, where the organization is facing huge public relation issues and the aspects that are intensifying this further is the company’s low approach in building their image in front of the customers. The connection of Telsa and its customers is weak, which may make the customers believe in all the allegations that are stated by Martin Tripp.

Public Relation Challenge

The importance of public relations has increased in the last decade immensely and now it is important for the organization to give a considerable amount of attention to their image in the public. In the current situation, where Martin Tripp has leaked information about Telsa by leaking the private emails of the CEO of Telsa Elon Musk. According to the emails, issued by Tripp, this can be formulated that he is talking something about the car security, lying to the customers, and also to the investors. All this information, impose a huge accusation on the company Telsa which will definitely affect the public image of the organization. Thus, in the current circumstances, it is very important for the organization to take some measures that will help with damage control and it is also the best time for the organization to understand the importance of marketing, public image, and promoting the organization on a large scale (Lambert, 2018).

Measures to Control Damage Conducted that Telsa is Facing

The current working environment has changed hugely and the decision making of the customers has also changed, majorly due to the evolution of the internet and social media. The social media has helped in transferring the power from the organizations to the customers and with just a single post on social media, a customer can cause a huge damage to the organization. It can take years for an organization to overcome their negative reputation in the market. In the case of Telsa, the damage is being done by a person who has been loyal to the organization and knows the organization’s details in-depth. So, initially, the organization has to clear its stand in the entire case and utilizing the social media platform will be the most effective approach (Compton, 2014).

Firstly, the initial step that has to be taken by the organization is to retain its current customers and also to target new through the clarification that they will provide to the customers. The main targeted customers of Telsa, belongs to the age group from 35 to 44 years old, these people may not be so active on social media but they read newspapers and articles regularly (Kent, 2013). The organization has to provide a detailed clarification on the entire incident. They have to clear all the accusation that has been imposed by Tripp also providing the customers with the Lawsuit details that they have filed against Tripp.

Current Public Relations Challenge Faced by Tesla

The organization should get this published in the newspaper targeting its current customers and also should publish it on their social media account, including both the official account of Telsa and social media account of Elon Musk (Van der Meer & Verhoeven, 2013). Also, the organization should ask all its employees to share the post on their social media account as it is very important to spread the message to a large number of audience. The organization Telsa has to utilize the various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and also their official website (L’Etang, 2013). The organization should also publish videos of the investors, telling the real truth to the people that the company has not lied to them and documents which can be used as proof should be posted on the social media account.

Secondly, the organization has to become a part of different events as a sponsor that is associated with environmental preservation, workforce equality and safety, and other issues which displays that the organization fulfills its corporate social responsibilities. The organization has to come clean in front of the public, so it has to publicize all the good work it has been doing but never exhibited it. All this information should be updated on the official website first, as it is crucial for the organization to attract more customers to the official website and then on the other channels (Muskat, 2014).

Thirdly, the organization has to get associated with the YouTubers who are a sensation in the current world, and thus the organization has to include them in their public relations strategies. These YouTubers have a fan base which is mostly young people and those who are highly active in social media. It is important that their followers are conveyed about the information that will help in attaining a new fan base for Telsa too. The organization should also get connected with the different brands of various fields, as all these approaches will help in expanding the market force of the organization (Smith, 2012).

Finally, the organization has to stay ahead of their competitors and for this to happen, it is important that the organization also promotes its unique qualities. In the case of Telsa, the organization has to inform the current and potential customers about its stores, sales network, and also about the high-quality services that they provide to the customers (Smith, Smith & Knighton, 2018).

Conclusion

All these strategies will help in building a strong foundation for the organization and will dismiss all the different allegations that have been imposed on the organization. In this attempt, of building the right public image, it is crucial for the organization to hire a professional public relations officer, who have the capabilities of transforming the company’s image in less time. For example, Johnson & Johnson also hired a professional public relations officer when the organization was imposed with a number of allegations, and the officers turned the image of the organization in no time.

References

Compton, J. (2014). Arby’s image repair tactics as a public relations strategy. Public Relations Review, 40(1), 122-124.

Kent, M. (2013). Using social media dialogically: Public relations role in reviving democracy. Public Relations Review, 39(4), 337-345.

Lambert, F. (2018). Tesla sabotage/data theft scandal becomes even crazier. Retrieved from https://electrek.co/2018/06/21/tesla-sabotage-data-theft-scandal-crazier/

L’Etang, J. (2013). Public Relations: A Discipline in Transformation. Sociology Compass, 7(10), 799-817. doi: 10.1111/soc4.12072

Muskat, B. (2014). Emotions in organization–public relationships: Proposing a new determinant. Public Relations Review, 40(5), 832-834.

Smith, B. (2012). Public relations identity and the stakeholder–organization relationship: A revised theoretical position for public relations scholarship. Public Relations Review, 38(5), 838-845.

Smith, B., Smith, S., & Knighton, D. (2018). Social media dialogues in a crisis: A mixed-methods approach to identifying publics on social media. Public Relations Review, 44(4), 562-573.

Van der Meer, T., & Verhoeven, P. (2013). Public framing organizational crisis situations: Social media versus news media. Public Relations Review, 39(3), 229-231.