Monday, April 1, 2019

A Guide For Establishing Effective Shareholder Communications

By George Gray


Most of the businesses collapse within their first year of operation. The main reason for this being inadequate capital or mismanagement of resources. If you want to run a successful business, you need to look for people to invest in your firm. The easiest way to do this is by offering shares to potential investors. These people will give you their money and in turn, you will cede a portion of your business ownership. Since they are also owners, you need to develop a Shareholder Communications strategy to keep them informed.

As the manager in this business, maintain transparency with your stockholders. Gone are the days when you could just wash the dirt under the carpet. The advancement of technology and social media makes it easier for information and data to spread easily. You do not want them getting bad news about your business from other sources. Ensure that it is all coming from you.

Maintaining good relations requires you to talk even when nothing is happening. You do not have to wait until there is either good or bad news to initiate a conversation. The investors appreciate updates even when nothing substantial seems to be happening. For instance, you can send newsletters every three months to showcase the steps that the business is taking to grow and become successful.

Select the best method of communication. Most business managers will opt to share information during annual meetings and retreats. However, some details are urgent and they need special meetings to be convened. During these meetings, the shareholders will discuss the growth strategy as well as the accounting reports of this company. Remember, not all will manage to attend these meetings. The management should ensure that all shareholders are aware of what is happening. One way to do this is emailing the investors a copy of resolutions passed.

Adapt the use of technology in your communications. In the past, the only alternative was to post newsletters. After that, businesses started emailing these documents to their investors. While this may still work, try using more tech savvy options. Such may include social media pages and platforms. Here, you get the chance to communicate to the investor and the potential customers. In the end, your customer base will rise increasing what you earn from the exercise.

When sharing sensitive information, you will always worry that the competitors may get hold of this data. However, this should not worry you. If the competing firms are waiting for you to disclose crucial information, that means they do not have a strategy on their own. However, the information you share should not give them this strategy.

As a manager, it is your role and responsibility to decide on the information to send your shareholders. If possible, you should send them a comprehensive document on your business operations. But that is not possible as some of the details there would be sensitive to be disbursed to the public. Only the best and experienced managers can get a balance between the need to share information without exposing their secrets. Ensure you are one of them.

A shareholder owns a part of your company. It is only reasonable to share certain information with them on the success of your business. Look for the best method to disclose this information. The communication channel you choose needs to be safe. You do not want your competitors knowing your classified secrets.




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