Did your candidate win, lose, or are they still waiting to hear in Tuesday’s election results? Have you ever thought about the similarities in elections and your marketing? Elections are really condensed versions of what businesses try to do with their marketing. Let’s take a look at some classic political messaging and compare it to your own brand marketing.

Mud slinging

Think about the messaging in the presidential campaign. Some issues stick with voters and others do not. The candidate who can figure out how to position themself on the issues that are most important to voters typically wins. This is particularly true when you are talking about values. Values are deeply held beliefs, as opposed to attitudes, which are seasonal and change with the prevailing winds of social popularity. From the beginning of polling, politicians have tried to make themselves look as though they had the same values as their constituents. Of course, part of the political messaging is to go negative and try to tear down the reputation of your opponent, which is most effective when you can expose them as an anti-values person. It gets pretty ugly when the political mud is being thrown about on the campaign trail. As much as you may not like attack ads during an election cycle, they work. Voters don’t like charlatans when it comes to values. Exposing the other side as a fraud is a very effective way to win elections.

You may not go after your competition as viscously as a politician would, but it is always a good idea to know the weaknesses of your opponent and contrast it with your brand to expose the differences between you. It is also very important that you know your customers well enough that you understand their values. To portray your brand on the good side of a customer value and your competition on the wrong side is very effective in marketing. Political mud slinging is designed to make this distinction. You should also do it with your marketing.

Getting out the vote

Both sides of the political spectrum attempt to motivate people to get to the polls and vote. This was on display this election cycle. This year’s hotly contested presidential election saw a record number of people turn out to vote. People stood in long lines to cast their ballot. The candidate who can energize people to go to the polls typically wins. There are times when the electorate may have strong opinions, but never bother going to the polls and casting a vote. This is a politician’s worst nightmare! All the money they spend to promote their candidacy is geared towards getting voters to the polls. Anything short of that goal is a huge failure.

Likewise, in business marketing, we are asking customers to take action on our behalf. We have to convince them to make a purchase. What is the action that has to happen in your customer to do that? That may be contacting a sales representative or making an online order. Whatever it is, the goal of all your positioning is to get them to take this action. If you are not motivating customers to buy from you, your marketing is failing.

Lifelong partisans

Politicians of course don’t get elected for life. They are dependent on voters who back them time and again. In fact, they are looking for more than votes. They are looking for people who will contribute to their fundraisers, go to their rallies, put signs in their yard, volunteer in their campaign offices, etc.

Beyond purchasing your products and services, it should be your goal to gain customers for life. You want them to believe in your brand so much that they would recommend it to their friends, expand their purchases to include other items from you, and come back to you whenever they have a need. In other words, we want them to be brand loyal. To do so, you must give them a reason. That requires you to give them service beyond what your competition is doing, asking them what they think about your brand, and making sure you fix any problems they have with it. It also requires you to have a next purchase for them in your brand offerings. Don’t leave them with a one and done experience. Offer them discounts for being a loyal customer, incentives for bringing a friend to you, give them first crack at your new offerings, keep them informed of special deals coming down the road, etc.

As we wrap up the political season, don’t miss the lessons you can learn from this democratic exercise. Evaluate the winners and the losers, where they made a connection with the voters and where they fell short. Apply these lessons to your own marketing efforts.