Public Policy
• Find out when legislation or a policy
proposal will be debated and attend the
hearing or public meeting.
• Most importantly, keep following up.
One letter or phone call won’t do it. You
have to continue to communicate your
message in as many ways possible.
Continued from Page 17
• Take Action: Once you’ve developed
your message (and possibly built or
joined a coalition), you need to take
action.
There are a number of things you
can do:
• Encourage your group to call, email
or send letters to your legislator on the
same day.
• When you send letters, be sure to
prominently include your address to let
the person who reads it first—a staff
member, more than likely—know that
you are a constituent. If you can, write
it on your Buffalo Wild Wings® letterhead. Business owners and operators
in a district are especially important
to elected officials. The state of your
local economy is often a major factor in
whether elected officials get re-elected,
and that makes your take on the
economy particularly valuable.
• Bring a group of people to your legislator’s office.
The Impact of Grassroots Communications
Never underestimate the power of
communicating with your representative in Congress. A recent survey of
congressional staff members (conducted
by Hamilton Place Strategies) finds that
constituents are believed to have much
more influence on undecided lawmakers
than lobbyists and that constituent
stories of policy impact outweigh think
tank or activist group studies. Even if you
don’t have the opportunity to meet with
lawmakers themselves, staff meetings
are still effective—85 percent of staffers
surveyed said that bosses make their
policy decisions through conversations
with staff members.
Another survey of staff members
found nearly 90 percent of staffers said
that postal mail and email would influence an undecided lawmaker’s decision
on legislation if it contains a personal
message and isn’t a form letter.
Lawmakers value the opinions
of their constituents and the business
community—especially small businesses.
Elected officials want to hear from you—
and they do listen.
There is no end to activists’ efforts
to disrupt your business. The worst thing
you can do is ignore these threats and
sit on the proverbial sidelines. Going on
offense and having a strong grassroots
and government affairs plan is the key
to taking control of the public policy
environment in which your business
operates. S
Sarah Longwell is the managing director of
the American Beverage Institute (ABI), a
Washington D.C. restaurant trade association
that protects the on-premise dining experience and defends the right to drink moderately and responsibly prior to driving. You
can learn more at https://abionline.org.
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