Unless you are living in complete seclusion, you are more than aware that it is election season. Next Tuesday, November 4, the polls will open and you will be urged to vote for the candidate of your choice. Since we are only five days from Election Day (and it falls just four days after Halloween – how appropriate is that?), you are hearing and seeing all kinds of ads for candidates. Senator A is a bum who is involved in all kinds of corruption and graft, while Representative B is a hard-working public servant who has an open ear to all of your needs and has fought tooth and nail for the American Dream – plus he owns a golden retriever which shows up at the end of his ads with his wife and kids standing in front of a farm.

Ah, the American Electorate! We are wooed to stand behind those seeking public office, especially every couple of years when there is a national election. What can you learn about marketing from the current political season? I find there are three common tactics that are transferable from Election Day politics to marketing in business.

1. No one pays attention until it is time for action

We are in the last week before the midterm elections and it is hard to turn on the radio, the TV or drive down the street without seeing ads for the candidates. I typically go to the polls right after they open in my precinct. Every year I am greeted by someone who is supporting a specific candidate. Why didn’t they try to woo my vote a month ago? Because I was not voting a month ago. Until the deadline of Election Day comes upon us, most people don’t pay close attention to the candidates. Most people could not tell you what positions are being voted on this election season, let alone name the candidates for those positions. Not until the ballot is in front of them will they know for sure. And most of those voters will choose a candidate they have heard of over someone they have not. Keeping the name of the candidate fresh on their mind right before the vote is an effective way to get elected.

So it is with marketing. Is there a time when your customers are likely to make a purchase? If so, market heavily to them right before they make their decision. What if you are in an industry that does not have hard deadlines for purchasing? Create your own deadline. That is why sales have expiration dates. When you can market some benefit or cost savings to your customers by creating a deadline when all the benefits go away, you have created an urgency in their purchasing habits.

2. Little things can become big things when there is no time to think

A dirty little trick that politicians use is called the November surprise. This is when some sort of negative news comes out about one of the candidates right before the election. It typically comes out the weekend before the election. The news is sensational, probably half true and the candidate is left with no time to explain before the voters go to the polls. Many times these tactics are used by candidates who are lagging behind in the polls and cannot keep up on the issues, so they sling a zinger at their opponent and redirect the issues to be all about his misfortune. Many candidates have found that little things can become very big issues when the electorate reacts to such news.

In business, little things can become very big issues as well. With social media being what it is, there is very little thinking - just reacting - when people respond to sensational news about your company. McDonalds has been the victim of multiple social media attacks. A while back they encouraged customers to share inspiring stories about fun experiences in the restaurant on their Twitter hashtag #McDStories. What they received was a barrage of complaints from former employees who told of dropping food on the floor and still serving it to customers. Whether or not any of it was true was never confirmed. The stories went viral and McDonalds ended up pulling the account. Did anyone who read and responded to those tweets really think that dirty hamburgers and buns were being served in McDonalds restaurants across the nation? There was very little thinking, just reactions. What do you do to defend yourself against an attack? First, come up with a plan to manage the news you release to the public, especially when using social media. Second, give that job to a person or a group that understands the guidelines of what to say and what not to say. Here are a few general guidelines. If there is a hint that you may be putting some group down, it is better left unsaid. Don’t open yourself up to criticism by excluding someone. Respond, don’t react, to negative comments left on social media. See if you can reach out to the person to solve their problem instead of leaving a comment to their comment on your social media site. Social media is not the best place to have a conversation.

3. When you make a distinction between yourself and your competition, you have a chance to win

In politics, if you look and sound like the other guy, you will lose. People in our society like choices. In your business, you also have to make a distinction between you and your competition. If not, you will become a commodity to your customers. Whoever gives them the lowest price will win because there is no other difference between the two of you.

I hope you take the time to vote on Tuesday. And I also hope you can glean some marketing tactics from the candidates that you can use in your business.