In my city we held elections for local officeholders. And this election taught, as they all do, important lessons about marketing small businesses.
Consider that local politicians are definitely local businesses: they have customers (voters), are selling a product (themselves), they have a brand, often employees (campaign team) and are concerned about their ROI (campaigning to maximize votes). And like so many small businesses, the local politician wears many hats when doing business. Often too many!
Good promotion that emphasizes the brand, meaningful differences with competitors, and is focused on the advantages of the product are critical in making a successful sale. Those that unduly focus on the alleged weaknesses of competitors risk going out of business (losing the election.)
In my City Council district the incumbent did very well protecting his brand, making direct sales, and focusing relentlessly on his own product strengths and advantages. His competitor started on such a path but impatient to optimize his ROI chose to focus mainly on the incumbent. And misstated facts. And alienated potential customers. The challenger lost in a landslide.
Even worse, I engaged campaign operatives in conversation at a polling station who did not understand their own product. Their party endorsed the challenger on a party identification basis. The "employees" had no idea what the candidate stood for, opposed, and in one case, what the candidate's name was. They projected a very poor image of the product.
Bottom line: observe other kinds of small businesses, even if they seem remotely far from "business". Be mindful of brand equity, targeted marketing, and employees who are the front face of your business. Don't try to "lose" an "election."!
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