By Nathan Coyne
I recently had the opportunity to attend and speak at the annual Trade Association Forum Best Practice Exchange.
In a breakout session covering member retention and recruitment, a member of the panel said something that resonated with me.
You have about one minute, he said, to convince someone of your value proposition before they move onto something else.
What struck me about this statement is that when it comes to a political stakeholder, such as a busy MP, you have even less time.
Presenting a case that grabs their attention immediately is therefore vital.
And this is why constituency based data is such a valuable tool. Being able to talk to them in terms of how the issue with which you’re concerned impacts their constituency and constituents will resonate so much more than just national statistics.
Trade association data
Trade associations are potentially sitting on a rich seam of information about their industry, including:
- Where their members are located
- How many people they employ at each location
- How many branches or factories, offices or warehouses are in each location
- Revenue, turnover and gross value added
Any data that can be pinned to a location either through a postcode or a grid reference can then be aggregated and repurposed to create local authority, parliamentary constituency or regional level industry impact summaries.
The prize for harnessing this data is that not only does the association have powerful collateral to help book and use during meetings with MPs, but it will come to be seen as the go-to source of information for the industry and have political stakeholders coming to you.
But there are challenges to overcome along the way.
Data challenges
Rarely is the person who wants to use the data the gatekeeper of it, so obtaining it will often involve adding to someone else’s workload, which can be difficult without wider agreement and buy-in to the overall objective.
Then there are data protection considerations around both removal of personally identifiable information, and commercial confidentiality. Members may need to be sold on the overall vision and benefits in order to submit certain types of sensitive data.
Another factor for an association to consider is the geographical spread of its industry. Is it focused in small pockets across the UK, or does it have a demonstrable nationwide impact?
Additionally there needs to be a plan for using the data actively and showcasing it. There’s no point going to the lengths to collate and analyse the data only for its impact to be lost through poor visuals.
Issue based data
Data doesn’t only have a role to play in showcasing the local impact of an industry but can also be utilised to support a single issue campaign.
Indeed collating data for this purpose can be easier because there’s less data to collect and a clear and uniting campaign objective that makes all member and internal stakeholders feel the effort is worth their while.
It can also be easier because it may not involve using internal sources of information. We have carried out work for trade associations that have involved undertaking freedom of information requests to local authorities – removing the need for any internal or member supply of data.
Equally, it is always worth reviewing the growing public bank of data produced by the likes of the Office for National Statistics and the government departments; there are a raft of official industry related statistics.
The House of Commons library can also be a rich source of useful data, producing analyses on topics ranging from broadband speeds to EPC scores by constituency.
Why small associations are no exception
Trade associations attending the TAF event varied from small associations with a handful of employees to large associations with big public affairs teams such as the CBI.
Small associations that don’t have the capacity for regular meetings with MPs or events at party conferences or in parliament, shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking constituency data projects are for larger organisations.
Indeed data and web-based visualisation tools can actually act as a leveller for small associations by providing them with collateral to brief all relevant MPs about the impact of their industry in their constituency.
Embarking on a constituency or local area data project can be a challenging assignment for trade associations, but the rewards are substantial. Data-driven insights can help level the playing field, ensuring all associations, regardless of size, can present compelling cases to time scarce political stakeholders, ensuring their industry’s impact is both understood and valued.
So when you only have one minute to convince some of your value, let data do the work.
Polimapper has vast experience of working with trade associations, and our constituency visualisations are already relied upon by the likes of UK Hospitality, the BVRLA and the Motorcyle Industry Association. For more information on getting started with constituency data for stakeholder engagement, visit www.polimapper.co.uk