Part 2 - Field Guide

Presidential Marketing Tactics

While your marketing/advertising budget isn’t anywhere close to that of a presidential campaign, it’s still money that you want to spend wisely. 

There are plenty of comparisons that can be made between running a political campaign and running a business. Both politicians and your business are trying to get votes from the general public.

Political advertising is nearly always short-term or direct-response advertising.  If you are running a sales event or promotion, heed the rules of short-term marketing. If you are focused on long-term marketing, the rules are different. Your media rep can help you establish an effective message and schedule for either.

One Exception

Before going into the 14 Marketing Tactics, keep in mind that there is one MAJOR thing that your advertising needs to do that most political or presidential campaigns do not….tell the truth! And don’t make promises you can’t keep.

The following Presidential Marketing Tactics outline proven rules that you can utilize to become the “president” of your category.

1.) Share Your Passion

When watching presidential candidates engage their audiences during their pre-election campaigns, you can’t help but notice their passion and conviction. It is your passion and conviction for the value you deliver that will inevitably help you create advertising campaigns that work.

Without that passion, advertising can become boring. Boring advertising will not excite your prospects and potential customers.

Take time once in a while to remember why you got into your business in the first place. Rekindling that passion will help you remain proactive rather than reactive in your marketing.

2.) Survey Your Customers

Presidential candidates talk to their constituents, survey their opinions, and know what their constituents want to hear. Do you know what your customers’ and prospective customers’ wants, needs, and desires are?  Find out!  Once you know this, inspire them with a message that speaks to their heart, mind, and pocketbook. 

3.) Avoid the Flip Flop

Be consistent with your message. If you want to be famous for service, for example, invest at least as much in promoting your service message as you do in sales or discount advertising.

Stick to your long-term strategic plan and principles, and don’t let yourself be dragged into reactive marketing.

4.) Be Prepared

Be prepared for what your competitors are going to say about you, and train your staff to handle those attacks. Don’t get involved in competitor bashing in your advertising. Take the high road by always selling your positives rather than attacking a competitor’s weaknesses.    

5.) Be Part of Your Target “Community”

Learn to live and breathe the same experiences as your customers. Living in an ivory tower can make it difficult for you to relate to real customers' needs, wants, and concerns. 

6.) Tell Stories and Parables

Stories sell! Tell the positive stories of how your business's product(s) or service(s) have made a difference in your customers' lives. Politicians do this exceedingly well. 

Political example: “The national debt is approaching nearly $93,413 for every man, woman, and child.”  Dentist example: “We have over 1200 patients with the brightest, whitest, and most beautiful smiles in town.”

Stories that touch real people’s lives have more impact than meaningless statistics.

7.) Have Others Endorse You

Third-party endorsements from real people who do business with you can be more powerful than listening to you talk about your business. In addition, testimonial advertising can capture the attention of your prospects and is nearly always more believable than having a “professional” talking about you.

8.) Ask Your Fans to Invite More Fans

Psychographics dictate that those consumers who are most likely to need or patronize your business associate with like-minded prospects who also have a high probability of becoming your customer. BMW customers know other BMW prospects, and people who send their kids to daycare have friends who also require daycare services.

Ask for referrals and have a marketing plan to foster more word-of-mouth advertising from your customers. 

9.) Put in the Effort

Running for “president” of your category is NOT a nine-to-five job. Reach out and network with customers, prospects, suppliers, staff, and anyone who can help you grow 24/7. Trade shows, house calls, and other extra-effort marketing strategies can help you reach and influence your prospects. Follow-up phone calls or surveys after the sale demonstrate you care about your customers.

10.) Develop a Proprietary Slogan

In today’s competitive landscape, simply promoting your name is no longer sufficient to develop customer loyalty or attract new business. Your name must stand for something and be associated with an easy-to-remember benefit statement or slogan. 

A slogan, in a few short words, describes what your business stands for.  Whether they were your preferred candidate or not, Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” and Barrack Obama’s “Yes We Can” were extremely powerful slogans.

11.) Appeal to Prospects’ Emotions

Aristotle once said: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”. 

Our opinions, attitudes, perceptions, and decisions are generally influenced emotionally or by impacting a person’s feelings. Once people have made a decision emotionally, only then do they justify their decisions with logic. 

12.) Use Intrusive and Passive Media Correctly

Intrusive media are those media that are most effective at reaching and influencing customers before they establish brand or business preferences. Only intrusive media can create or change opinions and reach the heart and emotions.

Passive Media are particularly good at listing facts and figures, and appealing to logic once the interest or awareness of your business has been aroused.  The two work perfectly in harmony.

Intrusive media are those media that penetrate the mind and create preferences or opinions while we go about our daily activities, primarily radio and TV. 

Passive media are media that we have to stop what we are doing and actively seek out the information to absorb it. Passive media are primarily brochures, print, and websites.

Social media, if used correctly, is a bit of both intrusive and passive.

13.) Be Online and Interactive

Having an up-to-date website tells your prospects, “We’re in business and we make it easy for you to buy.” Allowing interactivity, suggestions, and sending rapid email responses keeps you in touch with and relevant to your customers' needs every day. 

Use your intrusive media to build your brand and drive more traffic to your website, but be careful not to give your website all of the credit for this two-pronged marketing approach. 

14.) Milk Your Data Base (but don’t abuse it)

Today’s technology offers you opportunities for invitation-only events, customer-service follow-up and surveys, and a host of other cost-effective database promotions. Your biggest sales increases can come from those customers who have already done business with you. 

Important: Your advertising will help you continually build that database. Customers move and experience lifestyle changes that change their needs, and new customers move into your market every day. The one-two punch of building a database through continuous advertising while using that database to build stronger customer relationships is very powerful.