An uncertain economy combined with an ever-shifting political environment is challenging companies of all sizes to do more with less.
Eager for a speedy return to normalcy, companies are slashing “unnecessary spending”, with 74% of companies specifically targeting technology spending.
If you are part of the nearly three out of four companies reevaluating their tech stack – we drafted this report for you.
Because as programs and initiatives face the chopping block, you may feel pressured to cut back on advocacy. We’re here, armed with data, to show you that you can’t afford to opt out of a strong digital grassroots advocacy effort.
Why?
1. Your operating future depends on it.
Elections have consequences. And according to the U.S. Bank and RealClearPolitics, those consequences are specifically tangible for certain industries.
In 2024, corporations touching the following issues are most likely to see impacts:
- Taxes
- Healthcare
- Regulation
- Immigration
- Spending priorities (energy, infrastructure and defense)
- Geopolitical conflicts
Simply put: corporations are especially vulnerable to policy shifts in the coming years. You need to have an issue-based advocacy strategy to stay ahead.
2. Your bottom line demands it.
Consumers, employees and other stakeholders not only expect, but demand that businesses assume a more front-facing advocacy role on issues. This is a departure from previous years of corporate social responsibility; stakeholders now seek corporate social advocacy.
A growing body of research highlights this trend: A 2020 Zeno study noted global consumers are 4x more likely to trust, buy and champion companies with a strong perceived “purpose,”. Another nationally representative U.S. study found that Americans – across age, income, education, gender and political spectrums – widely agree corporations must engage in addressing social issues.
Clearly, a strong grassroots advocacy program is a must-have for corporations.
But we get it: when budgets are slashed, you may face an uphill battle defending the need to invest in advocacy.
That’s why we did the heavy lifting for you. We’re debunking five myths you might encounter that are holding your company back from making a profound grassroots impact in 2024 and beyond.
MYTH 1: Advocacy programs are cost-prohibitive.
Fact: Advocacy programs are a value creator, not a cost driver.
Particularly in comparison to traditional, low-tech methods of outreach, digital advocacy offers a cost-effective, measurable method of delivering your messaging directly to those who need to hear it.
What’s more, a smart digital grassroots advocacy campaign allows you to build long-term relationships with your advocates, meaning you can encourage multiple actions from the same individuals – reducing the need to recruit new groups of advocates every time your company is faced with a policy challenge.
| Speak4 Spotlight The Scene: A state government started the year considering an expansive development project. Momentum was on proponents’ side and legislation was poised for a landslide victory. But a group of concerned community members and stakeholders who had invested in the impacted neighborhood banded together to form a coalition with a cause. In a David v. Goliath fight, where neither time nor money were on their side: this coalition became the cause that could. The Success: We drove 100,000 messages in three days, ultimately putting the controversial development project on hold. |
Myth 2: Advocacy programs are redundant when I have a government relations or lobbying team.
Fact: You need both. Online advocacy maximizes the impact of your on-the-ground efforts.
Grassroots advocacy gives your lobbying efforts the power of context. Whereas one-on-one meetings with lobbyists can give a lawmaker a deep dive into your corporate priorities, thousands of letters into a decision maker’s inbox gives your issue visibility, allowing you to reinforce your lobbyists’ efforts with both numbers and faces (or with personalized testimonials).
Don’t take our word for it: One recent survey of congressional staff from the Congressional Management Foundation found that “constituents who make the effort to personally communicate with their senators and representatives are more influential than lobbyists.”
Speak4 Spotlight
The Scene: When state legislation threatened the operations of one Fortune 500 corporation, they turned to Speak4 to mobilize consumers to advocate their behalf, using both words AND testimonials.
With Speak4’s StoryTeller redirect, advocates were prompted to record up to three minutes of their personal testimony on the issue – translating the real world implications of this legislation.
Amongst the outspoken advocates was a former state legislator who now found themselves amongst the impacted group. With a heartfelt plea to their former colleagues, this legislator – and countless other advocates – prompted a turning of tides.
The Success: The outpouring of testimonials shifted the course of this legislation, encouraging lawmakers to further consider the consequences on businesses and consumers. Through the power of voice, the legislation was stopped in committee and our partner continued to operate with great success.
Myth 3: My consumers (or members) don’t want to be bothered with advocacy.
Fact: Advocates want to take action – and share with others when they do.
Consumers are energized by social advocacy. Some 46% of Americans report having engaged in activism on social media over the past year, with 26% of Americans saying they have encouraged others to take action on social media as well.
If consumers’ eagerness to get involved isn’t proof enough to make an advocacy ask, consider this: 76% of individuals report trusting content shared by “normal” people rather than brands. Your grassroots advocacy campaign can leverage social sharing to maximize the effectiveness of your campaign, expand your reach and reduce budget spent on ads alone.
Speak4 Spotlight
The Scene: Look no further than eBay’s work to reduce tax burdens on casual sellers (think: the grandchild helping clear out an attic or the mother looking to pass on her child’s outgrown clothes).
When eBay launched their advocacy push, they put advocates to work too using Social Sharing.
After sending a message, advocates were prompted to share their activism on their own social media pages.
The Success: Advocates shared, and in turn activated new users that otherwise would not have engaged with eBay’s campaign. In total, 1,500 additional messages were sent to lawmakers from socially activated advocates.
Myth 4: It takes a lot of time and a lot of tech to run an advocacy program.
Fact: Your company’s grassroots pilot program can be turned around in under 24 hours.
This is where the tech you choose becomes imperative to your success. An intuitive grassroots advocacy platform like Speak4 can:
- Launch a letter-to-lawmakers campaign in 10 minutes or less
- Integrate seamlessly with your other tech tools (email service providers, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, etc.) to track advocates’ behavior
- Provide hands-on support from Speak4’s Partner Success teams familiar with your campaign in the event of a sudden policy shift or late-night meltdown
- Offer comprehensive, automated reporting to keep your campaign on track
Flexible digital advocacy technology can make your corporate campaigns efficient, effective and relatively effortless – as long as you have the right partner.
Speak4 Spotlight
The Situation: A Fortune 100 company faced a tough challenge: asking for continued federal funding to support an initiative to help Americans in vulnerable communities access much-needed services.
With only a matter of weeks to turn existing consumers into vocal advocates, the company and Speak4 worked hand in hand to onboard a our platform, build out landing pages for action takers in multiple languages, add on extra bells and whistles, and button up audience segmentation.
The Success: 750,000 advocates took action, with more than 7 million messages sent to targets – proof that you don’t need months or years to convert your customer base into a thriving grassroots advocacy program.
Myth 5: Online advocacy forces me to choose between lots of people taking action and a few high quality engagements.
Fact: Online advocacy takes two tasks off your to-do list by activating a high volume of advocates to deliver high quality engagements.
Perhaps you’ve found yourself sitting in a boardroom between two parties: one pushing for more quantity from advocacy programs, the other pushing for more quality.
Who’s correct?
Both!
Successful engagement with lawmakers and their staff requires both the quantity to capture attention and the quality to clearly communicate and persuade. Don’t just take it from us:
Congressional staffers agree online advocacy has increased the volume of messages they receive from constituents. And the volume of messages influences how issues and topics are prioritized within individual offices.
But contact is only half the equation. A similar survey of legislative staff noted that individualized constituent communication was influential in moving the needle with lawmakers.
We’ll be the first to admit: advocacy probably won’t solve all your problems. But it will solve two big problems when it comes to injecting both quantity and quality into your government affairs work.
Speak4 Spotlight
The Situation: When one corporation, hard at work in America’s farmlands, faced tough pressure from a local city council, they turned to one of Speak4’s agency partners to help balance the delicacies of their issue while still driving the amount of attention needed.
With Speak4 tools like Saved Advocate View and Send+, the partner was able to drive a high quantity of actions amongst a narrow pool of potential action-takers. With personalized message variants and a custom integration to print physical copies of each advocate message to deliver to their lawmaker, the partner ensured the quality necessary to be successful at the local level.
The Success: Hundreds of personalized messages, printed and hand delivered to campaign recipients beautifully intertwined the quantity and quality achieved with online advocacy. By not choosing one over the other, the client was able to successfully fend off pressure – and prove it’s not an either / or when it comes to online advocacy.
You’ve got the facts – now what?
It’s clear: grassroots advocacy is a critical component of your corporate strategy. If you want to continue to compete, you need a reliable, robust advocacy funnel that moves the needle. We’re here to help.
Whether you’re looking to upgrade your existing tech stack or starting your corporate advocacy from scratch, we’ve got you covered. Speak4 offers seamless integrations with more than 5,000 platforms, intuitive, easy-to-use functionality and features that minimize your workload and maximize your results.
It’s time to opt into smarter, stronger corporate advocacy.
Ready to roll? Let’s talk.