5 business lessons we can take from the election

In many ways, an election is no different than a marketing campaign and while this election looks and was close, there was a clear winner. In the popular vote, Biden won by five million votes and the counting continues. It looks like he’ll win the electoral vote by the same tally that Trump won four years ago, (a landslide then but a fraud now?). There simply were more customers in more places for Biden’s brand than there were for Trump’s. Running a company that helps companies understand their customers and refine their strategies, I looked for lessons we could learn from the election.

There are at least five key learnings that apply to business:

1. Choose a strategy about the customer, not the product. Biden chose a consistent, long-term strategy about the country recovering from the pandemic and associated with that was healthcare. There was other messaging about climate change, racial equality and the economy but all seen through the lens of what the pandemic has done to the country. Trump chose a strategy that focused on himself, his grievances and similar to 2016, how he and he alone could save the country from its problems. There clearly was a market for that message but it also caused a backlash against him from traditional Republicans and suburban women.  There has been questioning of whether he had a strategy at all. Whether intended or not, the market perceived one and found the other side more to their liking.
2. Don’t fall into tactical traps. With a strategy so focused on himself, Trump’s negative messaging about Biden jumped all over the place. Sometimes he called Biden stupid and at other times, smart. He often complained about traveling or having to speak in different parts of the country. Complaints and accusations do not convey customer centricity. Yes, Biden stayed in his basement for much of the campaign and it related to his strategy about staying safe until we get past the coronavirus. Throughout the first debate, the only one before early voting began, Biden rarely fell into the trap of defending against Trump’s aggressive accusations. He wasn’t perfect, but to his voters, he was good enough.
3. Put together the right team. Firing, complaining, loyalty tests, erratic behavior and fear are not good motivators and do not attract competent people. Trump’s team was constantly being second-guessed by him and his family. His first campaign director had a nervous breakdown in the middle of the campaign. Biden’s team was quiet, consistent, stayed on task, and worked in a collaborative environment. They were a good example of how a supportive environment enables a team to work most productively.  
4. Energy, alone, will take you a certain distance but is limited without a good strategy. There has been a lot of criticism of the inaccuracy of the polls in the final vote. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the election took place a week earlier if they wouldn’t have been much more accurate. Whatever you think about Trump, he showed remarkable energy in the last week of his campaign. His travel and rally schedule were more than most people could handle and it brought his voters out in force, but it has limits. It was seen as irresponsible due to the pandemic by much of the country.  Trump targeted such a narrow group of voters that he likely maxed out at its absolute ceiling. Strategy is basically direction so if you’re running faster than anyone but not thinking about your direction, you could simply be running in circles.
5. Authenticity wins. A combination of our polarized social media environment and politics along with both federal and state governments’ mishandling of the pandemic have caused the majority of Americans to get better at sniffing out fakery and placing a value on authenticity, honesty and transparency. Biden’s stutter ultimately became an asset to his image because it is real and something he has been dealing with for his entire life. Trump’s portrayal of himself as an outsider, authentic in his campaign for the 2016 election, rang hollow this time. Each adherence or breach of authenticity can build or erode the credibility of a candidate or a product.

There are certainly more lessons that we can take from the election. I’ve only listed a few that stand out to me when it comes to creating a good business strategy. We complain about how long our political campaigns last but in business, good campaign strategy lasts as long as the business exists.

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