Business and politics may share some similarities – they both rely on influencing people to support your cause – however they are both driven by different needs. Business is driven by profit, whilst politics is driven by personal belief. Some would argue that as a result they clash and should never be mixed. Others however may argue that they can benefit each other. If you’ve been thinking of getting your business involved in a political cause or using a political view to market your business, here are some important things to consider.
Politics is impossible to avoid in business
No business can avoid politics altogether. Businesses are governed by laws and these laws are put in place as a result of political decisions. Business law is always changing and so it’s important to be aware of what’s going on politically. That doesn’t mean that you need to form an opinion on what’s going on, but you can’t ignore these changes in legislation.
And whilst you can refrain from forming a political opinion, many other people that you deal with in business may have political opinions of their own that they will voice. This could include employees, contractors, suppliers and customers. In such situations, you need to decide whether to voice your own opinion or dismiss the topic altogether.
Dismissing political conversations altogether is the safe option
Politely declining to enter political conversations is the safe option in most cases. This prevents you from entering any hostilities and damaging any relationships with the people around you.
This is most important when it comes to dealing with customers as it could cause a certain political view to then be associated with your brand. Customers who share a different view may then refuse to do business with you based on your political views. By steering clear of sharing political views, you avoid this from happening.
Some companies have gone so far as to train employees on how to remain neutral when faced with aggressive political opinions in the workplace. Coffee chain Starbucks for example has brought in training in regards to dealing with customers’ aggressive opinions on Howard Schultz as this Zero Hedge article details. Some other companies have even forbidden colleagues from discussing politics.
Sharing political views can be risky – but it can have its advantages
Sharing political views can risk you losing business or risk damaging relationships, but it could also be a way of strengthening bonds with people that may share the same opinion. In fact, even when you may disagree, it could occasionally have a positive impact.
For example, debating political opinions with employees could be a way of improving communication and getting employees to be more open. This article at Business News Daily even discusses a link between discussing politics at work and higher job satisfaction, by offering a sense of give and take.
Sharing political views with customers can also have its benefits, although this is far riskier. Trump’s travel ban is a good example of an event in which polarizing political opinions were used as a form of marketing. AirBnB released an ad that supported unity and diversity as a clear attack on the ban. It was met with some backlash, however overall led to an overall growth of 8000 followers on social media the next day.
Where do you draw the line?
Whilst sharing political opinions can clearly be beneficial to businesses in certain situations, it’s important to know where to draw the line and prevent negative consequences.
Allowing political opinions to be shared amongst colleagues could lead to healthy debates that improve team communication and relationships, however there’s always the risk that an opinion may offend someone and even cross over into harassment/discrimination. This is particularly the case with certain far right views.
Employers are totally in their right to fire employees over political opinions that may have a negative impact, however this itself can open up a can of worms – they may retaliate with a lawsuit and the media could get involved. Pretty soon your political views could be shared with the public and then customers will be forming opinions on your brand based on your response to the situation.
Social influence is now more popular than political influence
When it comes to gaining influence, there has been a large shift from political lobbying to focusing on gaining social influence as this GSPM article discusses. Companies are no longer donating money to helping political causes but instead investing money into PR campaigns that encourage social change directly from the public. This approach allows companies to still support causes without aligning themselves with political parties.
There’s also been a big shift to businesses getting involved in charity. Such charities often have causes but are not linked to political parties and often less polarizing (although working with some charities may still divide opinion)
For those that feel they want their business to be an outlet for a cause, going down this social route rather than the political route could be a better option.
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