In October 2009, Schlesinger moderated a panel discussion at the Council of PR Firms’ Critical Issues Forum. During that discussion, he made the following comment about public relations relative to the current environment:

"Peter Drucker was right when he said, ’Underneath all of the world’s problems is a raft of entrepreneurial opportunities.’ This represents a colossal opportunity for folks like you to shed light on an incredibly difficult situation that we all face, as citizens and as practitioners of the art and science of public relations."

In this Q&A, Schlesinger shares some additional thoughts on the opportunities he sees for PR.

Perspectives: You’ve said that the current environment holds great opportunities for PR. One of the hallmarks of this environment is uncertainty; at the same time, circumstances make it more important for all marketing disciplines to prove a return on investment. How do you think PR can best do that in the current environment?

Schlesinger: First, in an uncertain environment, the notion of relying on a well-planned business analysis for ROI for any marketing discipline is absurd. The results of any campaign will be uncertain unless you have a solid understanding of cause and effect. The global economic meltdown is a clear example of people assuming they understand cause and effect when we don’t. We also don’t know the nature or pace of the turnaround. Subsequently, we don’t know how new marketing programs will be received by a public that continues to show a decline in trust of essential institutions. It’s all unknown.

The very nature of PR suggests problems like this are when the industry gets to shine. At a time when the public questions everything, PR can help re-establish trust through transparency and authentic communication. It can be a window into public sentiment through real-time monitoring of online comments and postings, and it can use what it learns to react quickly to changing situations. So, while we can’t rely on past performance being an indicator of future performance in the current environment, the best way for PR to show its value to business is to innovate in the face of uncertainty — and to be clear about that uncertainty.

Perspectives: Uncertainty could translate into hesitancy to support "innovative" PR campaigns. How should PR practitioners proceed when this happens?

Schlesinger: You start with base-level experimentation. You have to make small bets before you can make bigger ones. It should be looked at like stage venture capital, where you start with a seed investment to get a business idea off the ground. The first stage must be successful before investors are willing to provide additional funding. This approach needs to be clearly and consistently applied to innovation in any environment.

In the context of public relations, this might mean approaching the challenge of restoring confidence in business, for instance, by initiating an unprecedented campaign among a small audience before rolling it out to a larger one.

Perspectives: If the current environment represents an opportunity, why do you think PR is better positioned to seize this opportunity than, say, advertising?

Schlesinger: Two key reasons are the growing lack of trust in ads and the fragmentation of messages. There is a broader distribution of marketing spend across media than we’ve ever seen before, and PR is getting a bigger share of it. In part, that’s because traditional marketing isn’t as effective as it once was. People know that ads have been paid for by business, and their trust in business is low. What’s needed in this new environment is a way to rebuild relationships between people and business or government. Where traditional ads have less impact, good old-fashioned PR has a very powerful role to play. PR practitioners are in a better position to advise a CEO that words must be backed up by deeds and then consistency.

Perspectives: How do you think marketers in general might best use this time to strengthen relationships with consumers?

Schlesinger: The tougher the environment and the more uncertain the economy, the more important it is to stay close to your customers — through chats, visits, community dialogues, observations of uninfluenced behavior. Interacting and observing customer behavior closely is the kind of small-step experimentation that is key to program development.

Perspectives: You’re widely recognized for your research and consulting on service quality. In this environment, where trust in business is low, it seems that customer service should be a bigger focus than ever. How can PR or other marketing efforts support customer service?

Schlesinger: Before worrying about customer service, businesses need to come to recognize that if their associates don’t believe them, their customers never will. Many organizations will go out with marketing programs to impress their customer base, even when they know they have a disaffected workforce. Then they express great surprise at program failure. Management of human resources and customer service go hand in hand. The rules that lead to excellence in one function are directly applicable to outstanding performance in the other. Corporate PR, through internal communications, can help engage employees in HR efforts, but that will only be effective if the efforts are sincere and meaningful to employees.