Research-The Road map

                   Research is the road map to developing an effective public relations campaign.
Research allows the public relations professional to gain a prospective into the company by educating the stakeholders by identifying potential problems, needs or opportunities before implementing the campaign. Doing the research allows the public relations professional to save time and use the funds that were allocated to them in a productive way, this also allows stakeholders to see where and how there funds are being spent. An example of this would be how much is spent on advertising for the launch of a new store.
Through research you define your publics by polling, interviewing, and focus groups.  This allows the stakeholders to define objectives such as determining if their company is in the right location and if they are targeting the right publics.  They can set up goals and with the help of the public relations professional can provide direction to become successful.
With providing research this will ensure that planning the campaign will run smoothly as the public relations professional and the stakeholders will have a clear road map to follow.