Knocking with intent

Building relationships between cultural organisations and local business is far from impossible, but it will take more than Arts Council England’s Catalyst funding to do the job. At DHA Communications, we have worked with the cultural and private sectors in two very different cities over the last nine months and found at first-hand the scale of the gulf that exists between them. It’s not that local businesses didn’t want to listen. In both cities we were told that boardroom doors were open. It’s just that ‘no one was knocking’, or no one was knocking with the right kind of coherent proposition. And that’s the problem.You can tell a business about all the great things that your cultural activity does for the community, hold out a begging bowl or appeal to their sense of corporate social responsibility. But businesses, especially small local ones, are facing hard times too. Tell them what you want from them and they won’t blink before asking what they will get out of it. That can be an extremely hard question to answer. With deepening austerity and another five years of Conservative government, cultural organisations have got to find another way of connecting with business.

Cultural organisations that can start thinking and talking about themselves as businesses, however alien it feels, will reap the benefits

It’s not an impossible task. Meet someone for the first time and you instinctively eke out areas of common interest on which to build a conversation. Engaging business in local cultural ambitions, however modest, is not so different. It’s about heeding that fundamental law of communication: know your audience and talk to them by reflecting what they want to hear, not simply what you want to tell them. Some basic stakeholder consultation will help identify specific interests of local business, but there are some no-brainers to get started on in the meantime. One is that all businesses need to attract and retain quality, skilled staff. Cultural organisations that can prove their contribution to creating vibrant towns and cities where people want to live will send a powerful message to the local, private sector.

Business people are also interested in other business people. Cultural organisations that can start thinking and talking about themselves as businesses, however alien it feels, will reap the benefits. Remember to focus on similarities and not differences. Is it so hard? After all, many cultural organisations have a product of some description to sell and many operate commercial activities. You may even have answers to problems that have relevance for local business – attracting tenants to hard-to-let spaces, inspiring and motivating staff or encouraging higher visitor spend in your café.

Speak to the economic development team at your local council for advice on accessing business networks. Chambers of commerce can be hard to break in to but there’s usually a plethora of other more informal networks, some set up by enlightened individuals and others based around specific professions. Do a web search for other free business networks which are worth checking out directly (it may simply mean starting the working day a couple of hours early with a breakfast meeting) and work with your marketing or communications team (if you have one) to brainstorm other opportunities.

Learn to make the most of board members and other business people who are already on your side by getting them to champion your organisation. Get them to write articles for local business media on the importance of business support for the arts. You can offer the use of your venue to host corporate events. Find opportunities to present to their wider networks and use their access to network newsletters to get your message out there.

Building relationships with the private sector can be an uphill challenge that takes time, but get the basics right by developing a compelling narrative which reflects the broader interests of business as well as your own cultural objectives, and you’ll be heading in the right direction.

Jon Flinn is Communications Director of DHA Communications.
www.dhacommunications.co.uk
Tw @DHAComms