by Jimmy Harris
As the owner of a small business, I've been watching the presidential race very closely. As an advertising professional, I've also been watching this race and some others to see if I can learn a thing or two from how the candidates are managing their advertising. It's been a lot of fun, and I think I've come away with some interesting observations. I hope they help!
1 – Advertising Matters
Seem obvious? You might be surprised how many people say they just rely on “word of mouth” to expand their customer base. Can you imagine what would happen if our presidential candidates relied on word of mouth? Just this morning I heard that one of the candidates is spending four times what the other one is in advertising. And we’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars here. Why are they spending so much? Because they know something you and I need to understand. Advertising matters!
The current race leader is less experienced, has politically problematic ties to unsavory characters in his past, and was named the most liberal member of the senate by a major bipartisan publication. By contrast, his opponent has a long record of service with no questionable ties, and by most measures is regarded to be a true centrist (which is typically what the electorate favors)… yet he is trailing in the polls. Why? There is more than one reason, but none greater than the fact that the younger candidate is outspending his opponent 4 to 1 in advertising! The lesson? If you want to win, you MUST advertise!
2 – Negative Advertising Hurts the Advertiser
Two years ago here in my hometown, it was revealed that our state representative of 22 years did not pay her taxes for a number of years, and was engaged in some other questionable activities. Still, I advised her challenger to ignore that, and to spend his time speaking positively about what he could accomplish in Atlanta for the people who live here. But he had a consultant who told him to go negative, and he did.
It was a close race, but in the end, he lost. I was perplexed, so I asked a lot of folks around here why they voted the way they did. To a person, they said they would have voted for him until they started getting mailings and calls talking about the negatives of the incumbent. In other words, people voted for someone who was manifestly corrupt rather than someone who was perceived as “negative”. What’s the business lesson for us? Never, never, never denigrate your competition – it will come back to bite you!
3 –The Sizzle is just as important as the Steak!
Been watching the debates? Have you noticed that after each debate, there is always a discussion about who was more poised or at ease? Through the years, it has always been interesting to me that the pundits seem to give the debate to the candidate who appeared more “presidential” over the one who landed more punches on the issues. Our lesson? While image isn’t everything, it is extremely important. Like it or not, image unquestionably affects the choices voters and customers make. We ignore this fact at our own peril. While what we say certainly does matter, how we say it matters every bit as much.
4 – Emotion trumps Logic
This is closely related to the Sizzle vs. Steak. This is one I’ve noticed during TV debates between party strategists. While the host may ask perfectly reasonable questions, the audience shouldn’t expect fair-minded replies. Each debater is emotionally invested in his or her party, and will hold their ground regardless of the facts presented. Why? Because they have already decided who they are voting for based on emotional connections... now they just need “logical” arguments to justify their views to their friends.
Of course, we can see this even closer to home if we want to. Remember your friend who bought a $34,000 sports car because it’s going to help them “save gas”? Of course you could show them mathematically that it will take them 22 years to simply break even based on the cost of their older, perfectly good sedan . . . but you both know instinctively that he bought the car because it makes him feel younger, or more successful, not because it’s saving him gas money. In other words, he bought the car for emotional reasons – the gas thing is just to help him justify his purchase to you, his wife, and his mother-in-law! What’s the lesson? Good advertising appeals to emotion first, and logic second!
5 – Sell to your Best Customers first
Do you get a lot of political mail? I certainly do. But have you noticed that the mail is pretty lopsided? Almost all of the political mail I get is from the party I’ve been actively voting in for the past 20 years. At first glance, it seems like that wouldn’t make sense, doesn’t it? Why try to preach to the already converted, right? Wrong. My party sends me mail, and I read it, I tell others about it, and I sometimes even send a check to help. The lesson is this: It’s always cheaper to sell more to your current customers than it is to convert people who aren’t already your customers.
6 –The early bird gets the worm!
Have you noticed that this year more young people are registering to vote than ever in the history of our nation? Have you noticed that they are almost all of one political party? Is it a coincidence that it’s the same party that’s raising so much money? And how do you think this will affect future elections? Do you think these young voters who have registered under one party will be easily swayed to switch parties 4 or 8 or even 12 years from now? Not likely. By capturing the hearts and minds of young voters early, chances are, they will have most of them for life.
Our lesson? Make first impressions count! When “Joe the Plumber” calls your store that very first time because he finally decided to start a new business and is now looking for a supplier, will you capture him as a customer? Will you impress him? If you have to place him on hold for any reason, will he wonder whether you’ve hung up on him, or will he be impressed that he has called an established, professional, trustworthy company worthy of being his supplier for life? Don’t waste your opportunity to make a good first impression!
7 – Focus on your customers needs!
I keep hearing one of the candidates say to all of us, “Ask yourself this question, are you better off today, than you were 8 years ago”(when the incumbent took office)? The other candidate is asking “Are you better off today than you were 2 years ago, when the congressional power flipped”? Notice that neither of the candidates is just giving you their resume. Why? Because they know most voters don’t care! And truthfully – do you care? Or do you want to vote for the man who seems to have a better plan for your business and your family? This is another lesson that might seem self-evident, but if you listen to the radio, you’ll hear business after business tell you how many years they’ve been around, how much collective experience they have and all about their “friendly, courteous staff”. Those advertisers are wasting their money. No one cares. Like the presidential candidates, we will all do better if we will Focus on the Needs of the Customer!
Well, I’m sure there are hundreds of lessons we could learn from this election, and the next time you hear from me, we’ll have a new president-elect. Whichever side wins, remember that the backbone of the American economy is small business. And at the head of each small business is a man or woman who is putting in the hours, creating opportunities and providing the true economic infrastructure upon which this nation was founded.
That, my friend, is true patriotism. And I want you to know that I appreciate you.
Till next time . . .
7 Marketing Lessons from the Presidential Election
