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The country has been on a major drive to lure investors and many organisations are putting in place investor relations programmes to ensure they attract the right mix of investors. The corporate world requires programmes and structures that endorse their organisations as part of the successful investment community. In this case, every structure or department of the company becomes critical in investor relations programmes. Therefore, how can organisations utilise the Public Relations (PR) practice to ensure these investor relations programmes are successful?

Because PR cuts across organisational activities and programmes, it is essential for PR practitioners to ensure the programme is utilised effectively for the purposes of harnessing investment opportunities for entities. So how is PR useful to the investor relations programmes of an organisation? PR creates awareness and understanding between an organisation and the investment community. In order to create this awareness and understanding, the corporate world needs to utilise PR.

For instance if a company is eyeing an investment, they have to be aware of the investment community, its environment and the critical players involved.

Continental mobile phone companies such as MTN have tapped into the investment opportunities in the country but are still to make headway which could be a case of the company taking time to understand the investment community in Zimbabwe. A good reputation and image always ensures success in gaining access to capital for any organisation.

And gaining access to capital kick-starts any investment endeavours for an organisation. The corporate world cannot be successful in investor relations if it cannot access capital. It is the responsibility of PR practitioners to create an organisation of repute to gain access to capital.

Today, the Dangote group can access investment opportunities in the world because of its image and repute in the investment community.

PR has the power to ensure organisations attract liquidity in their investor relations programmes. Liquidity brings consistency and frequency in the trading of shares of an organisation. Frequency and consistency in the trading of shares comes with a good name and reputation. Profiling and explaining the company on a continual basis can assist in creating greater awareness for a company.

Depending on the availability of shares, this can then assist the company in attracting a pool of buyers and sellers and the potential for higher frequency in the trading of its shares. Creating a fair market valuation is always critical in investor relations programmes. This is usually reflected in the share price. Companies can do this by managing expectations in relation to their current and future performances.

Communicating to and with the investment community will enable a company to detail its performance record and its strategy using publicly disclosed information. PR helps in creating a fair market valuation as the public, with their expectations, make an evaluation which can either aid their investment programmes or not.

PR helps an organisation to “get the right balance”. Practising investor relations alone will not automatically guarantee a company heightened profile, easy access to capital, liquidity in its shares or a fair share price.

Naturally, other factors outside and in addition to a company’s own activities, such as the economic situation, a company’s fundamentals, confidence in its management team, the availability of shares and competition for investors’ money, can have an impact on how a company is perceived, funded, traded and valued by the market.

Rather, the aim of embarking on an ongoing investor relations programme is that it enables the investment community to have greater awareness of the company’s investment case and commercial activities so that shareholders, potential investors and traders, can each take an informed view and a decision as to their involvement with that particular company.

For many quoted companies, the balance will be about updating those who already follow or invest in the company and profiling the company to new audiences.

Therefore investor relations programmes enable the organisation to strike the right balance and it is this right balance that already existing investors, potential investors, buyers and sellers want to see before they commit themselves to either continue investing or to start embarking on a new investment programmes.

PR practitioners have to really understand investor relations and the investment case of their organisations to ensure they effectively utilise the practice. The PR practitioners have to strategically position PR to ensure the corporate world is successful in its investment drive. And the PR practitioner should always remember that an organisation with a good image and reputation has the power to attract investors and make a big statement in its investment case.

This article has been prepared by the Zimbabwe Institute of Public Relations. For feedback, comments and inquiries please email [email protected].