What Businesses Can Learn From Politics
Whether you relish in the upcoming election or are tired of all of the ads, speeches and so forth, there are many lessons that businesses can learn from political campaigns. In essence, politicians are simply trying to sell themselves and their views to the voters, while businesses are trying to sell their products and services to customers. Voters = customers!
Message oversaturation By now, virtually everyone is tired of the myriad of political advertising, whether it's on TV or the radio, in the newspaper or delivered to your mailbox. It reaches a point where it doesn't matter what the message is, people simply tune them out. There's a fine line between getting your message out enough and bombarding potential customers too many times. We've all seen examples of getting too many messages from someone who wants our business. It doesn't matter what they are offering, their e-mails are deleted without being read and mailings tossed in the trash. Communicate frequently enough to be memorable, but not too much to be annoying.
Attack ads Sometimes they work for politicians and sometimes they don't. However, before you consider saying something negative about a competitor, think again. Aside from any ethical and legal ramifications such as libel and slander, attacking a competitor frequently just comes across as poor sportsmanship. While we all want potential customers to know that our products and services are "better" than the competition, this information can be provided without deriding the other companies. Also, avoid the temptation to use the methods that some campaign ads utilize in which they either "imply" something negative or don't tell the entire story.
Flip-flopping In an effort to please the greatest number of voters, candidates sometimes change their support on an issue. This can happen to businesses, too, in a variety of ways. Sometimes, it's in the form of offering a product or service that your company doesn't actually have, in an attempt to get the business. Sometimes, it's actually doing or saying something that you wouldn't normally do, just to please a client. Trust your intuition. Don't lie to a client or lie for a client, just to get their business.
Tell the truth Along the same lines, always tell the truth, even if it costs you business. In the long run, you'll come out ahead. We've all seen examples of politicians promising one thing, then doing the opposite later. Also, don't lie about your past — or your experience. Businesses often do this. "Do you have the knowledge to do this project?" they are asked. The response is "Oh sure" when they haven't got a clue. Sometimes it works out, but often, it doesn't.
Crisis management Be prepared to respond immediately to negative situations. Don't assume that no one cares or that the issue will blow over. Politicians who don't quickly respond to problems often find themselves in even bigger trouble. If your business has a situation that could potentially turn into a crisis, prepare in advance. Even if nothing happens, it's better to be prepared, than to be forced to respond from a defensive position.
Respond immediately If possible, be able to quickly respond to what your competitors do. A great example of this was the recent Democratic National Convention. Typically, after a convention, the candidate sees a big "bump" in their favor in the polls. However, this year, the Republicans announced who the vice presidential candidate would be the day after the DNC, deflecting much of the media interest. If you know your competitor is going to release a new product, it's great if you can announce a new product of your own.
There are many more examples of what businesses can learn from politics. We'll close with one last example: when competing for business, be gracious when you win and a good sport when you lose. That's what will keep people coming back to you again and again.
