by bswift Insights

You’re building policies that could prevent lawsuits, protect patients, and shield reputations. You’re writing the guardrails that keep your organization out of the headlines.

The work is good—and it matters. But the question is, does it stick?

Because even when compliance teams get everything right on paper (sound policies, solid training, full completion rates) the same preventable issues can still surface. Not because people don’t know the rules, but because knowing the rules isn’t the same as living them.

That’s the real challenge: Closing the gap between good intentions but limited traction. And it’s why the most successful compliance teams borrow from marketing—earning attention, breaking through noise, and building trust at scale.

Take a page from consumer marketing

Why borrow from consumer marketing for compliance communication? Because they’re good at it. Marketers have cracked the code on behavior change. They know one truth that others often forget: Attention is earned, not given.

It’s not that marketers are manipulative. They’re just realists. They know that people ignore most messages. They know that information alone doesn’t change behavior. So, they’ve built entire disciplines around maximizing visibility, making complex ideas simple, and motivating action.

Plus, your colleagues are used to receiving information as consumers. So even compliance information needs to be served up to them in a way that will resonate.

How to use marketing strategies to improve compliance outcomes

The good news—the playbook exists. It’s grounded in data and built to scale. Most importantly, it’s already working inside top compliance programs.

Here’s the marketing formula that leading organizations are using to take their compliance programs to the next level:

#1 Gather and leverage data

Start with listening. Use pulse surveys, focus groups, and participation metrics to understand what employees are seeing, feeling, and doing.

Use that data to define: What is unique about your audience, your organization, the current moment in time that will help shape your compliance strategy?

#2 Define clear objectives

Based on what you learned, identify what you’re specifically trying to accomplish with your compliance program right now. Are you trying to drive participation to events? Raise awareness for your policies? Develop a deep understanding of what it means to own compliance?

No matter your objectives, it’s helpful to create a SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, time-bound) framework for your program.

With clear objectives you can define exactly what you are asking stakeholders to do, prioritize messaging, tactics—and demonstrate results.

#3 Employ champions

Top-down mandates only go so far. That’s why it’s important to identify champions across the organization.

This may include compliance business partners, managers, or peer influencers who can model the behavior, tailor the message, gather feedback, increase dialogue, and normalize expectations.

Culture shifts faster when the message comes from a close, trusted source.

#4 Deploy a thoughtful content and channel strategy

Next, think through ways to create content that resonates. Use plain language. Skip the jargon. Time messages to moments of impact.

Don’t just push out policies. Take extra effort to tell stories that highlight scenarios and make the stakes real. The difference-maker: Helping people translate understanding into concrete action.

Leverage a strong mix of channels that meet employees where they are and are relevant for the content and demographics. When they go looking for information, it should be easy to find and navigate.

Make a culture of compliance your strategic capability

When these steps are done well, they don’t just improve communication. They lay the foundation for something deeper: A true culture of compliance.

It’s about whether your organization can execute on its values when it matters. Whether people feel safe speaking up about problems. Whether your culture supports doing the right thing or just talking about it.

Compliance teams who get it right drive significant change that goes way beyond awareness. They transform how people think, act, and hold each other accountable. Their employees proactively identify risks. Their organization collectively mobilizes around risk management.

And that’s when compliance starts becoming a true strategic advantage.

In this way, they turn compliance from a cost center into a capability. And it’s only achieved by making the stakes clear, delivering actionable guidance, and empowering your people to follow through.

Is your compliance program building culture?

So here’s what it comes down to: Are you in the business of documenting that you told people something, or making sure they actually do it?

If it’s the latter, the job isn’t just writing policies. It’s changing behavior. And that doesn’t happen because you said the right thing. It happens because people paid attention—and that starts with how you engage, message, and build trust.

Ready to stop checking boxes? Start building the culture of compliance your policies deserve.