By Lucy Mawufemor Kpeglo
Public Relations lecturer at the University of Media Arts and Communications, Institute of Journalism, Mr. Fuseini Iddrisu, has shared insights on the mistakes made by several organisations in ignoring the power of public relations for building customer relationships.
During a discussion on the GTV Breakfast Show, the lecturer emphasised the importance of issues and crisis management in fostering customer trust.
He noted that customers play a vital role in an organisation, as their treatment can significantly impact the business, either positively or negatively, since they are the source of revenue. Applying public relations skills is essential in establishing strong relationships with customers.
“The customer is the most importance part of of your business because they bring in the revenue and so you need to establish that cordial relationship with them, and like you will do with any human institution, even if you are living in a house with your co-tenant, if you are living with your family members, the way you should build that relationship with them is the same way we expect businesses to do with their customers and if the customer is happy, that is the only way he will come back,” he mentioned.
Mr. Iddrisu also commented on the societal perception that customers are always right.
“The customer is always right doesn’t practically mean the customer will always be right, and that is why public relations experts have a stake in the organisation. It is our job to train people within the organisation to have that skill to deal with such type of customers who are probably in to give problems to people within,” he added.
He further mentioned that many organisations overlook the role of public relations experts in building customer trust, believing that any employee can fulfill that role.
“Most organisations think they don’t need PR because PR is all about talking, it’s about speaking English and that one the C. E. O is able to handle that, or we can just find a national person. PR is a strategic industry and you need to be trained to do it. It’s not anybody at all that can carry public relations functions,” he concluded.
