Why is lobbying considered important in representative democracies?

Lobbying allows individuals and groups to communicate their goals to policymakers, helping legislators, in the words of Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, understand “the wisdom or folly of certain legislation.” Organizations that engage in lobbying include businesses, trade associations, labor unions, professional societies, nonprofit organizations, charitable organizations, universities, religious organizations, state and local governments, foreign governments, and citizen advocacy groups. Individual citizens also lobby the government when they contact their representatives to ask them to vote one way or another on a matter of legislation or policy.