What political campaigns tell us about running your marketing campaign

It’s that time of year again when political ads barrage us on TV, radio, the Internet and in the mail. But, what we can learn from political campaigns – messaging, targeting, timing, and asking – should be applied to how you organize and run your marketing campaign.

The pundits will tell you that you must have three of the four key elements to win an election; they are the candidate, the organization, the funding, and the message. When you have all four, you usually win. Three of the four puts you in a winning position, while anything less makes victory difficult. In terms of business, when you have the right product or service, a solid organization with a dedicated staff, the necessary resources to run a proper campaign, and a targeted message, then you give your company a better chance to succeed in marketing.

With this understanding, your company is positioned to fight for new customers. At the same time, you also know that you cannot neglect your current clients. This is not unlike the candidate who needs to appeal to new voters while remaining true to existing supporters. All voters or customers are bombarded with “vote for me” and “buy me” messages, so the clear, concise message always wins out. Do you remember Clinton’s “It’s the economy, stupid” and have you heard Chevrolet’s new battle cry: “Let the best car win”? Both are compelling messages. They get right down to what is important to the voter or consumer.

Do you have the right message that will truly resonate with your customers? Are you showing your customers how your product will benefit them, or are you still just bragging about your product’s features? Remember that the true benefit to customers always wins over the laundry list of what your product does.

Successful campaigners know that they do not have the financial resources to reach every voter, so they target their message to “likely voters.” The same should be applied in marketing. So, when a marketing professional asks you, “Who is your customer,” the answer is not, “everyone.” The marketing professional is looking for the person most likely to buy your product. Is it women who are 45-64 years old or men, 25-54? Maybe it’s both, but it cannot be the entire population.

Political campaigns do not have unlimited budgets, so they often back load their spending in campaigns. The rule-of-thumb for a candidate is to make the biggest spend in the last two weeks of a political race when people are making their decision. The lesson you can take is that you should spend your marketing dollars when your customer is most likely to buy. For example, even if a hardware store is selling snow shovels for half-price in August, no one is really looking for a new one until mid-December or January. Therefore, if I’m the owner of a hardware store, I’m not promoting shovels until I check in with the weatherman about the first snowfall.

When are your customers most likely to buy your product? Don’t tell me all-year-round. Like any candidate or business, the reality is that you probably do not have the resources to reach all people, all the time; so do your research and market to new prospects at the right time.

“All politics is local,” Tip O’Neil told us, and in many respects the same is true with small business. Most small businesses are integral parts of their communities. So, yes, the sponsorship of the little league, the support of the local parade, and the other things you do in your home town is money well spent. People like to deal with people they know, whom they see at the soccer field or in the coffee shop. But, the best “Tip” still rings true: make sure you ask for their vote. Tip O’Neil famously explained how in his first campaign he discovered that his long-time neighbor had not voted for him. He asked her why, and she politely responded, “You never asked.” If you’re wondering why some of your friends, family and neighbors have not bought your products…well, have you asked?