Within a newer business, stakeholders are an essential asset for its continued success, as their input and engagement with the company can spur the company on to future achievements or potentially help locate additional resources, as well as offer insights into new opportunities for growth or different approaches to standing problems.
However, stakeholders can lose track of what’s going on in your project, as they may be splitting their time between multiple concerns or are simply unclear about how things are developing. So how do you keep people informed and interested, in order to better benefit from their experience and advice? To find out, we asked entrepreneurs from YEC for some proven solutions entrepreneurs can use to keep their stakeholders both happy and engaged with their business idea. Here is what they advise:
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS
1. Offer Targeted, Thoughtful Experiences
Our stakeholders are our community, and we keep them engaged through targeted and thoughtful experiences. For our community of data scientists, that means organizing intimate vertical-focused, entertaining events that take people out of large-scale conferences and put them in front of each other as people. We reinforce that community through digital engagement, including webinars, Slack chats, podcasts and meetups. In an industry where people largely work solo or in small teams, this community-first strategy keeps us ahead. – Anna Anisin, Formulatedby
2. Meet With Them In Person
Meeting with your stakeholders individually and in person is the best way to keep them engaged, even if it’s just once a year. If you can’t meet face to face, at least give them a phone call. Of course, you should send them regular updates or reports, communicate any important news and conduct regular meetings per your written expectations between you and your stakeholders. We are all human, and one-on-one time says, “I really care about you and what you think.” – Reb Risty, REBL Marketing
3. Send Periodic Updates With Questions
To keep stakeholders engaged, send periodic emails with updates on your company’s status. The key is to ask questions as part of those updates and ask for help in the stakeholder’s area of expertise. This strategy elicits answers from stakeholders that make them think about your company more than they normally would. – Kyle Wiggins, Keteka
4. Compose Newsletters For Stakeholders
Recurring newsletters are a great way of keeping stakeholders engaged and informed. Letting them know the decisions you’re making and the reasons you’re making them heightens their respect for the project and for you as a leader. The last thing stakeholders want is to be kept in the dark about their investments or to be told half-truths. Even if it is negative news which has to be shared with stakeholders, informing them openly and frequently is in your favor. Omitting information which may be of value to stakeholders is not good business. Think about what you would want if you were a stakeholder and then make that available to them. Spending time writing engaging newsletters which present business information in an easy-to-understand format, is vital. – Bryan Driscoll, Think Big Marketing, LLC
5. Meet Expectations
Set goals and expectations on day one and work hard with your team to meet those expectations. We do a monthly goal review and check what was achieved and what needs more effort, restrategize based on today, and set new attainable goals. This is a great way to meet our ultimate company goal at the end of the year, taking bite-sized steps to the larger goal. – Jessica Baker, Aligned Signs
