Protect your business with a designer who understands the importance of compliance regulations.

Every business has an established set of rules that they must follow to maintain reputability. These rules are dictated by both the business owner (to establish brand continuity) and by the law (to ensure that businesses are conducting their matters legally).

When you create content for a business, you must follow all of the compliance guidelines set forth by both entities to avoid any legal issues later on down the line.

Working with a designer who is familiar with navigating between your legal team and branding will create a strong marketing strategy and build your reputation — and keep you out of trouble!

What is compliance?

Essentially, compliance is the act of cooperating with the regulations that have been established by a given entity. In the case of everyday law, every individual is expected to be compliant. For business, employees are expected to comply with the guidelines set forth by the owner or the Human Resources office. Businesses will often introduce education on these regulations in the form of yearly training.

Why is compliance important?

Many people will say that the #1 reason why compliance is essential is financial safety. It serves the honorable purpose of offering protection for investors as well as transparency in business practices.

If businesses and employees do not follow compliance guidelines, they could be looking at court time, hefty fines, penalties, or termination. If an individual or business is not financially secure, a breach in compliance could cause their ultimate downfall.

In addition to financial security, compliance helps an organization to:

ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT VOICE

No matter how large or small, every organization has a “brand voice” that sets them apart from similar organizations. If their voice is consistent, they will be recognized more easily by the public.

Working with a designer who makes both design and the corresponding copy/text a priority can increase your company’s brand awareness and reputation. It also ensures your voice is communicated in the way that you intended.

Before publications are approved, the designer and publishing coordinator often checks verbiage, works with compliance officers, and marks necessary recommendations. The first draft may not be the last if something is flagged. You need to work with someone willing to make numerous revisions to ensure the successful completion of a project.

AVOID LAWSUITS

Organizations inherently rely on their communities to help them thrive. In return, they agree to uphold the standards that the community sets forth for them. These are set forth both locally and nationally. As a content creator, we comply with the law in order to avoid severe consequences for your organization and your position.

BUILD TRUST

The best way to establish trust is to make a commitment, follow-through, and repeat. An organization’s compliance guidelines are essentially the commitment that they are making to the general public, and following those guidelines is their way of following through.

AVOID REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE

It takes a long time for a business to establish a reputation, but it can take only a single misstep for them to lose it.

Compliance guidelines provide the framework for building and maintaining a desired reputation. Without them, businesses risk seeming inconsistent and untrustworthy.

Take a look at Wells Fargo, for example. Despite the yearly training that every employee must undertake employees still violated legal business practices by opening accounts for customers without their consent. As a result, they’ve been fined over $3 billion! 

In the end, compliance guidelines exist to make everyone’s lives a little bit easier. Build a designer who will work with your legal team into your process to build your visual reputation. This could be through social media management for your firm or formatting of long-form reports and recommendations.

Following these guidelines as a creator helps to show that you have a vested interest in a company, and you will do what it takes to keep their vision intact.

It can be hard to make a name for yourself in a world of big banks, lenders, investors, and advisor, but your trustworthiness will help you to stand out. Once you’ve established trust with an organization, you can start to build a reputation as the content creator that the integrity it takes to get the job done!

Are you ready for the next steps?

If you are ready to create that strong voice for your business, contact us for the creation of a branding guide. Your identity goes beyond your logo. That’s where we can help! 410-855-4499 or email [email protected].