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DroneLife recently highlighted feedback to our top-of-mind query, “How will the FAA enable the following generation of flight ” – including what the FAA plans for drone integration – and what is going to occur with Distant ID.
Business Drone Alliance Executive Director and Leader of the Global UAS Practice, Lisa Ellman, began a recent keynote by acknowledging industry frustration with the FAA processes and rulemaking, which has appeared to stall around issues similar to flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and sort certification.
“All of us are here because we share a typical goal,” said Ellman. “…The advancement of drone technology advantages all Americans.”
Ellman went on to stipulate critical steps the federal government can absorb the following few months.
We realize our industry isn’t the primary to be affected by regulations and restrictions, and when regulations restrict business development, it could be difficult. What can we do, and the way will we lead our teams to take part in constructive motion that can help us with our goal – profitability?
10 revenue-generating motion items which can be a must for each leadership team:
1. Educate your audiences
Understanding how regulations and restrictions affect our business is paramount, and helping our audience understand is important. Explaining how regs affect our customers’ business is crucial to helping them understand the impact of the solutions we offer. We also want to teach our internal teams, especially our ambassadors for public relations – investors, executives, and the revenue generation teams – customer success, community engagement, product, marketing, business development, and sales. Partner along with your internal teams and other businesses with similar goals to share resources and knowledge on compliance and revenue generation strategies.
Revenue generation teams aren’t any longer siloed to the sales team. When executing strategies, envelop and align all internal teams who “touch and influence the shopper.” Bring customer success, community engagement, product, marketing, business development, and sales together so that they are champions of the regulation story that aligns along with your brand. Once we do that on the onset, we will drive outcomes faster and more efficiently. Aligning these teams is crucial to understanding regs, and that alignment becomes a winning foundation for team ownership, furthering adoption partners and ultimately improving profitability while waiting for regulations.
2. Put money into media & public relations
Start by training internal teams on the right way to discuss regulations and restrictions in our industry with State, Local, Tribal, Territorial (SLTT), and federal governments. Help them understand the solutions available today, the strategies in place, and the goals that may support meeting the shopper where they must be today and tomorrow. Founders and executives who champion the brand story and help lead strategy their revenue generation teams will create a higher-velocity motion plan.
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- Know the press – Construct relationships with the press. Understand the media outlets which can be right for your enterprise objectives. The fastest method to construct success with the press is to rent an in-house public relations specialist or contract knowledgeable media firm. Reporters receive lots of of submissions per day. Newsworthy articles chosen are a matter of the present press cycle, news worthy, subject lines, and relationship constructing.
- Exercise publicity – Construct a positive public image. Take a stance and confidently speak to it in your website blog; submit for speaking engagements; and seek leadership-authored industry news articles. Help regulators with research and development and share that evaluation to assist educate audiences. Create or co-create progress-driven publicity with data and results from research and development initiatives.
- Utilize social media – Social media platforms might be essentially the most effective public relations play for your enterprise. Tailor your stance to the perfect channels in your audiences. Be dedicated to the best messaging by knowing the audiences served after which offer value – awareness, educational development, and customer solutions.
3. Explore diverse revenue streams – Explore opportunities for diversification. Diversifying isn’t easy in terms of the business of National Airspace (NAS) regulations. Nevertheless, several leading firms have done this well by implementing go-to-market strategies for service or product-market-fit within the early stages of their development. If you happen to haven’t, it’s not too late. Research the market and pivot from a heavily regulated area of interest when you proceed to organize and remain engaged in your ultimate pursuit. Ask what problem your customer needs to resolve now. Find that area of interest and commit. If your enterprise is exceptionally good at compliance and adheres to higher standards than required, use it as a selling point. It would construct trust with customers.
4. Deploy digital & content marketing – Utilizing internet marketing strategies to achieve a wider audience without geographical limitations is helpful to broadening the conversation and collaboration. Beyond web optimization, social media, and blogging – video and podcasting are tools that must be used to drive awareness to your enterprise today. Create channels, menus, and playlists dedicated to addressing regulations and restrictions.
5. Discover customer partnerships – Engage customers for support to shape a positive public perspective. A customer advocacy strategy prioritizes the shopper experience. When cultivating advocates, we create brand advocacy that drives brand growth. Adding how regulations and restrictions affect our customers’ growth to our strategies keeps us focused on what we will achieve within the short and long run. It’s paramount to constantly gather feedback too: you’ll be able to adjust our revenue generation strategies based on customer needs.
6. Put money into community relationships – Ensure you will have a community engagement technique to support compliance with SLTT and federal governments. The trouble you add to community involvement could also be of the best importance to your short and long-term revenue generation goals. Commit to this team’s alignment across departments for the perfect outcomes.
Matt Beatty, Principal Consultant with Advanced Aviation Alignment, has spent the last decade in-market educating community stakeholders on NAS initiatives.
Beatty states, “The markets which can be targeted for expansion with advanced drone technologies, do not need a cookie-cutter script that effectively resonates with the variety of stakeholders required to appreciate the promised advantages of employing those technologies. Every community is a mosaic of needs and challenges. Operators must understand and address those needs throughout the scope of existing regulations and with an eye fixed on where the regulatory environment will unlock those promised advantages in a horizon that justifies the main focus, investment, and engagement of municipalities, counties, and regional transportation planning authorities – like metropolitan planning authorities (MPOs). Whether it’s drone medical deliveries to mobility challenges or the economic and workforce development impacts on jobs created, there must be an integrated plan that understands the voices and desired goals of those distinct communities. Successful implementation and integration depend on creating frameworks that can constantly engage with and incorporate State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) governance and community-based interest groups to make certain the technology is tailored and employed in a way that responds to public needs. The most effective place to begin I’ve reviewed in helping to categorize those public needs (and the regulatory and industry corresponding focus) has been NASA’s AAM Community Integration Considerations Playbook. The goal is an ongoing dialog with community stakeholders to make sure technologies are employed in a way that aligns with the varied and evolving needs of those communities.”
7. Join advocacy organizations – Join industry associations or advocacy groups that work toward regulatory changes that profit your enterprise. A collective voice is impactful with policymakers. The drone industry is fortunate to have several: AMA, AUVSI, Business Drone Alliance, DRONERESPONDERS, the Drone Advocacy Group, the Drone Service Providers Alliance, and GUTMA.
8. Commit to social responsibility – Support charitable causes that profit out of your services or products gaining regulatory compliance. Giving back and championing a cause that can profit from your enterprise thriving is at all times a great idea. Also, leading with environmental, sustainable, and governing compliance, higher often called ESG, provides value to everyone involved.
9. Seek legal counsel – Seek the advice of with legal experts who specialise in our industry to search out out if there are any public relations and marketing considerations which can be prohibitive when publicizing regulatory matters. Many in our industry have done this successfully. Creating a technique to implement how your revenue generation team must evolve legally is significant.
10. Monitor, adapt & communicate – Staying updated on regulatory changes, adapting our business objectives and methods, and communicating with our teams accordingly is essential to sustainable growth.
While generating revenue in a regulated environment has its challenges, it’s essential to know our audiences, align teams to drive successful public relations initiatives and profitability, adopt customer and ecosystem partnerships, commit to community strategies for unique stakeholders, get entangled in social responsibility, and maintain brand integrity by consulting with legal experts to maintain all revenue generation teams and initiatives compliant.