4 Timely Tips for Marketing in Highly Regulated Industries
When you’re in a highly regulated industry, marketing can feel downright impossible. But even with all of the restrictions you face, there are still plenty of opportunities to reach your audience, engage them via compelling content, and generate conversions.
4 Marketing Tips for Challenge Niches
Marketing is never easy, but in traditional industries like retail, food and beverage, physical goods, etc., it’s straightforward. You can follow all of the industry best practices, implement the latest tactics, and see what works. You can experiment, iterate, and try new things without shouldering much, if any, legal or financial risk.
The same can’t be said in industries like finance, insurance, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and alcohol and tobacco. If you’re in a highly regulated industry, there’s a long list of do’s and don’ts. And if you cross certain lines, it’s possible that you could face financial or legal consequences that threaten to undermine your business and negatively impact your standing in the marketplace.
The good news is that successful marketing is still possible in highly regulated niches. However, in order to win with marketing, you have to follow the rules and take full advantage of the freedoms and opportunities provided to you.
While every industry faces different regulations, we’re going to walk you through some general tips and tricks that should allow you to thrive in highly regulated niches. Check them out:
1. Plan Ahead (With Assistance)
You can think of the typical company using a shotgun approach to marketing. There’s a target in front of them and they fire a shotgun (knowing that some of the buckshot will knock the target in the right places). The rest will be off but it’s not a big deal.
You don’t have the luxury of executing a variety of marketing techniques and tactics on the fly to see what works. Using our illustration, you need a long range rifle with a scope that allows you to aim with precision and only hit the part of the target you’re trying to strike.
The ideal approach is to plan your marketing campaigns through the lens of a legal team. This might seem like an unnecessary waste of time, but it’s the smart, long-term move. It enables you to save time and money by avoiding costly mistakes or oversights.
2. Make Sure Everyone is on the Same Page
In an ideal world, your entire marketing team is staffed in-house. But this doesn’t mean you can’t work with freelancers, independent contractors, and/or outside agencies. However, when you do, it’s imperative that you make sure everyone is on the same page.
If a copywriter pushes out a piece of content that violates an industry regulation, it’s ultimately going to come back on you. Anything that happens underneath the heading of your brand is your responsibility. Invest the proper time into training, educating, and overseeing so there are fewer issues (especially at the beginning of a new working relationship or project).
3. Focus on Building Trust and Authority
You can’t make big claims in your industry. And even if you have the data to support something, you’re restricted in how you can leverage these numbers in your marketing. Trying to fight it will ultimately prove to be a losing battle. The more logical response is to shift your approach to focus on building trust and authority. You might not be able to be specific in your marketing, but you can build trust (which ultimately allows you to reach your audience and push them further through the sales funnel).
One of the best ways to do this is through influencer marketing. In fact, companies like BabbleBoxx specialize in helping businesses in highly regulated industries develop and execute creative campaigns to promote their brands through social media in verticals like alcohol/cannabis, gambling, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and finance. They do so by carefully curating branded gift boxes that are sent to influencers as a way of generating exposure on social media, blogs and other digital platforms.
4. Leverage Your Key Differentiator
When you can’t get specific in marketing, your best bet is to focus on your key differentiator and tell a story that resonates with your target audience and moves them to action.
Stop publishing sanitized content that’s devoid of personality and focus on the one or two key elements that sets your brand apart. By shaping a story around these aspects, your content will explode in reach, relevancy, and engagement.
Finding Success With Marketing
The challenges of marketing are only amplified in highly regulated industries like finance, insurance, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and alcohol and tobacco. But don’t mistake challenges for impending failure. With the right toolbox of targeted techniques and tactics, you can find success despite the circumstances. Now’s the time to reshape your strategy and pursue opportunities for growth.
