Why Industry Coalitions Are Valuable

The hardest tasks are often the most important. Now more than ever, it’s difficult for companies to take a stand on public policy topics. But, just because something’s hard doesn’t mean it’s unnecessary.

Congress is working to pass a major tax and policy bill. It will have major implications for companies large and small. Organizations need a way to find themselves a seat at the table, lest they end up on the menu instead. 

One strategy for this is the development of an industry coalition, which works in concert with other persuasive tools and membership organizations to achieve a common goal. By offering companies an alternate route to pursue their policy goals, industry coalitions are an effective way to navigate volatile political headwinds and ensure successful advocacy efforts.

Risk Mitigation

Coalitions are risk mitigators.

By enveloping your policy initiatives and key messages within a broad, diverse group of organizations and value chain stakeholders, it is harder for opposing interest groups to attack one member. This approach allows organizations to protect their customer-facing brands and reputations.

On top of this, highly targeted industry coalitions are force multipliers. 

By standing up a diverse coalition, corporations can harness the power of partner companies, trade associations and local organizations to get their message across. Leveraging existing relationships allows organizations to increase the strength and reach of their message–making it markedly easier to achieve policy goals. Additionally, it shows how no company is on its own; our complicated economy relies on a combination of partners up and down the value and supply chains. Showing how a particular policy will impact several segments of the economy is preferable to having a one sector targeted impact. 

Given these benefits, it’s no surprise that more and more companies are turning to coalitions as a strategic way to further their advocacy interests.

However, standing up a coalition to achieve your goals isn’t as easy as planning a series of Zoom calls. To raise your chance of success, it’s important to set up a viable framework.

Be Concise

While having broad types of members on your coalition roster will strengthen its effectiveness, broad messaging will do the exact opposite. The best coalitions focus on clear, narrow advocacy goals and support these efforts with a few carefully tailored, concise messages. 

This is the most important ingredient for success in any industry coalition.

A to-the-point message, delivered repeatedly and to the right audience, increases receptiveness among both lawmakers and the public. With that awareness, you bring your preferred response to an issue towards agreement, one step away from the ultimate goal of adoption.

Additionally, discipline increases coalition recruitment, retention and internal cohesion. A carefully tailored approach will put member companies at ease by reducing message creep, which could potentially expose members to advocating for objectives they didn’t sign up for.

Be Coordinated

Planning a weekend get away with a few friends is hard enough. Now, imagine trying to coordinate a singular, sustained advocacy effort among Fortune 500 companies, trade associations and local organizations.

As a team with deep experience cultivating coalitions, we know standing up a new group is no small feat done overnight, and no two are the exact same. But having clear, coordinated internal and external communications managed by one entity is something that all effective industry groups will have in common.

Coalitions require clear procedures for identifying policy priorities, message creation, stakeholder outreach, external communication and internal coordination. To deal with these tasks and many more, a designated coalition leader is essential.

To ensure your coalition is in prime position to achieve its policy goals, we recommend hiring an outsider to manage your coalition. Rather than stretching any existing employees too thin by adding additional work to their remit, a dedicated, reliable third party is sure to have the hours required and expertise needed to spearhead advocacy efforts. This also avoids any potential for real or perceived favoritism when it comes to strategy or messaging.

The bipartisan team at ROKK Solutions has successfully assembled and managed coalitions across a variety of policy priorities. Get in touch with our team to see how we can help you achieve your public policy goals.