How to communicate legislative changes in your industry

How to communicate legislative changes in your industry

There’s one thing we can be certain of and that is that change is constant. Whether it's changes to the market, societal norms or legalities – evolution of industries is a given.

By their very nature, legislative changes are likely to be disruptive to your business and industry – but they also represent an opportunity for you to promote yourself and your brand in your industry.

Why is it important to communicate changes effectively

An effective communications strategy not only helps you to be seen as a leader in your industry but by being supportive of your customer base, your brand could benefit from a rise in trust and loyalty. In times of change and challenge, providing guidance to customers and prospects gives your brand a critical advantage.

For example, some of our clients have previously seen changes to PPE and safety equipment legalisation come into place. Others in the automotive industry have had changing service standards with Consumer Duty due to be fully implemented by July this year. In both cases, our clients needed to educate their customers on these changes, and highlight the benefits – so trust us when we say it’s crucial you get this right.

Key factors to consider when communicating changes

Before you begin communicating to your audience, there are a few important factors that must first be considered;

WHY

Why are you communicating with your audience? Are you looking to offer support and guidance or are you simply looking to spread awareness of existing information? Deciding on this early on can help to determine which method of communication is going to be most effective in achieving what’s desired.

WHAT

Have you stopped and actually asked some of your customers what information they’d benefit from the most? Doing this initial research could help you to not only form your strategy, but it also avoids you wasting time on communicating information that isn’t required and won’t be engaged with.

For example, before putting a communications plan into place for changes to Consumer Duty, our client spoke to customers to find out what information would actually be useful to them to adapt to the changes. This helped to shape the content that was included in activity moving forward.

HOW

The logistics of your strategy are an essential early thought. Consider how frequently you’re planning to communicate across various outputs. For example, email campaigns are great but you don’t want to flood your audience’s inboxes and be flagged as spam.

Another important consideration is the language you use. You want to make sure your content is easy to digest and implement. Use plain English and avoid technical language, as your audience are less likely engage with something that requires great effort to absorb.

Recommended methods of communication

Now you have considered key elements of your communication strategy, you need to identify which marketing channels will be best to achieve your goals and reach your audience. The following methods are ones we often recommend when communicating legislative change.

Email campaigns

Email campaigns are incredibly useful ways to get a message directly to your target audience via their inboxes. Make your information short, sharp and easily digestible, and you’ll be able to provide your customers with timely practical guidance and helpful resources.

Thought leadership articles in key press

Thought leadership articles are not only a brilliant way to establish yourself as a leader in the industry, but they also provide a way for you to really dig deep into the legislation and provide answers to challenges your customers may be facing in relation to the new standard. By targeting key media you can be sure this will be seen by the right people.

For example, with our safety equipment and PPE manufacturing client, articles that explore standards, what they mean and how they impact the industry, are very well received by both publications and their audiences. It’s timely, topical and essential information they need to know and understand.

Video/Podcast episodes

Whether you create a company video or participate in an established series of podcasts, both are effective to communicate in a more informal way. . And with 48% of people listening to podcasts in order to learn something new and 82% of global internet traffic in 2022 coming from videos, it’s valuable for one of these methods to be a part of any strategy. Equally both of these can be repurposed to make excellent social content.

Sales materials

For most, digital is key but there’s still value in having a physical copy of information to hand over to people. For those who visit customers in person, having a leaflet or supplying an infographic on a poster, is a gate-way marketing tool to take the individual to your wider content available online.

Clear's conclusion

Staying on top of legislative changes in your industry is an important part of your business; and by providing this information to your customers you can support others within the industry in stressful times.

The strength of your business’ knowledge, combined with a well thought-out communications strategy, will not only help to steer others through potential murky waters, but in the long term, foster growth and confidence in your brand.

Are you wanting help with your company’s marketing strategies? Contact Rachel Arquati for more information on how Clear B2B can help you achieve your goals.