Your business and the upcoming election
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You have remarkably strong feelings about an aspect of today’s political landscape, and as a business owner or manager, you see yourself as a thought leader. You clearly have a legal right to make a public stand…but maybe you should take a pass on it.
You might be tempted to use your business to publicly share your beliefs on the presidential or gubernatorial race, taxes, diversity, climate change, gun ownership, the national anthem, or any of the dozens of fractious issues that make folks like Mark Zuckerberg wealthier. Why shouldn’t you? You’re far more informed than the average person. You’ve even chatted with your congressional or state representatives. If anyone has earned a right to speak loudly and proudly, it’s you, right?
I won’t dispute your freedom or your passion. But part of what people like me do is protect your company’s hard-earned reputation. That’s why I’d counsel you to stay out of today’s public battles.
Before you object, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be politically active and aware. I’m not suggesting that you stop supporting causes that matter to you or ensuring your elected officials know where you stand. What I am saying is using your business as a megaphone for your personal political beliefs can backfire in ways you may not have considered.
You may feel strongly that everyone should own a gun, or that humans are to blame for climate problems, that we need more or less immigration, or whatever … but it’s usually in your best interest to keep your company’s stance neutral and apolitical. (Of course, if your industry is directly involved in one of those controversies, that’s a different story.)
It’s nothing about your viewpoint. It’s all about the marketplace. Our society is dramatically more politically divided than it’s been for quite some time. Rational, respectful discussions have largely been replaced with angry tweets and angrier talking heads. Simple social media posts explode into furious battles in which both sides are so eager to promote their points that they don’t even read what they’re responding to. And good companies are being vilified because someone couldn’t resist the impulse to say something.
At the same time, the marketplace has become more diverse than most people realize. On any issue, there’s likely broad disparity in thought and stance among your customer base. Take a highly visible public position, and you’ll see customers vaporize because they don’t share your view and don’t want to support it. When they didn’t know you believed in arming bears, they thought you and your company were okay. Now you’re jerks who support the bad guys.
Most of the customers who get angry or disappointed and leave won’t take the time or effort to mention they’ve stopped doing business with you. They don’t want to get in an argument about the issue with you, so they’ll quietly switch to your competitor. Isn’t that what you’d do if you discovered a business you’ve patronized takes a public stance you disagree with? If you’re all for tougher immigration laws and you discover that your favorite restaurant has knowingly employed undocumented workers, you may stop eating there. That’s increasingly human nature in these divisive times.
Please don’t misunderstand my counsel. I’m not suggesting that you should defer to snowflakes and people who become offended at the slightest thing (such as using the pejorative “snowflakes,” which I did knowing full well it made some readers angry). Nor am I suggesting you shouldn’t stand up for what you believe.
My point is that you should keep your personal political beliefs and your company’s public viewpoint far apart. That’s not compromising your morals; it’s just respecting the reality that your customers may have many viewpoints.
So if your company shouldn’t talk publicly about politics, what should you talk about? Use your moments in the spotlight to talk about your products, your services, and your wonderful customers — not about whatever the cable news guys are fighting about today.
And finally, let’s be honest: putting your beliefs in the public square probably won’t move the discussion around the issue either way. Unfortunately, it could unknowingly put you at a significant disadvantage. Unless sharing your view through your business has the potential to dramatically advance your cause, wisdom favors keeping that opinion to yourself.
Scott Flood creates effective copy for companies and other organizations. To learn more, contact him at sflood@sfwriting.com.