How the Presidential Debates Can Make Your Marketing Better

There are so many similarities between a startup venture and a political campaign - the rhythm, the tempo, the hours, the intensity.

 - Mike McCurry. 

When Biden said in the last Presidential debate, “you know who I am. You know who he is, you know his character, you know my character… Our character’s on the ballot, look at us closely,” he was doing a branded ad. That is the same direct comparison companies give all the time. You are always trying to explain why your customers should choose your product over your competitors. We are fighting for the attention and money of our customers. For presidential candidates, a purchasing decision is a vote. So what can we learn from the debates? How can the presidential debates make you better at marketing your product and brand?

Identify pain points early on before they come up

Be strategic, not reactive. It’s not hard to predict what each candidate is going to say in the debate. There are even drinking games based on what they will say because of how predictable it is. Trump will attack China, talk about saving 2 million in COVID deaths, and the economy. Biden will mention Trump’s failure on COVID, his growing up in Scranton, and fracking. They even use the same language. Yet neither candidate effectively anticipated it and included it in their statements or had prepared responses that were effective slogans in combating it.

Your company needs to think about the pain points of your customers before they tell you. You can use social media listening for your brand or your competitors to seize opportunities. Notice many of your competitors are getting customer service complaints about response time? It would be best if you included your personalized service and response time on your website. Conducting interviews and see that your target demographic has trouble with new software? Write a quick-how to blog before you launch. You need to be anticipating what will stop your customer from making a purchasing decision or what will hurt your ability to make existing customers enthusiastic advocates for word-of-mouth promotion.

Stay on message

Part of the frustration of political debates is that candidates do not answer the moderator’s questions. National security became about personal tax accounts. Questions about policy become empty platitudes. You want to make clear statements in your marketing and company messages that relate to a single value. If your product is based on your social justice mission, price, and ease of use, do not have a marketing campaign that includes all 3. Try to stay focused on one value per campaign. The more importance you put into your message, the more difficult you have in figuring out what value is resonating with your customers.

Make emotional appeals

Most politicians get elected because they are strong at making emotional appeals. Biden was describing the empty kitchen chair of lost loved ones due to COVID. Trump identifying how people will lose all their money in a Biden-run America “your 401(k)s will go to hell.” Do not mistake your features for your benefits. Do not describe what your product is. Describe how it will make your customer’s life better. Show empathy with your customers. Do not say, “our workout routine will get you to lose weight in 6 weeks” “our workout routine will get you to have the energy to get more done and live a healthy life so you can spend more time with your loved ones.” There are too many ads for you to stand out, especially if you don’t have a large marketing budget. Create brand loyalty by demonstrating how you care for your customers.

The importance of long-tail keywords

There were times in the debate that both candidates were not talking to America as a whole. They were talking to crucial voters in swing states that they need to win the Electoral College. Biden mentions fracking and Pennslyvia because he needs to win that state. Trump says, “you hear that Texas” while attacking Biden for stopping federal subsidies to the oil industry to ensure that Texas goes to him. Both candidates know that the election will come down to crucial voters in these swing states in determining who will win the presidency. Winning the national popular vote does not make you president. It is a harmful use of resources for either candidate to focus on winning the popular vote.

Similarly, it is an inappropriate use of resources to go after short-tail keywords exclusively. It would help if you were focusing on keywords without as much competition, with highly specific audiences that are likely to buy from you. While most companies know the importance of keywords, I see smaller businesses and independent business owners focusing on broader terms or not doing enough research to find their long-tails. Do not attack your opponent’s castle at their most vital point. Find the backdoor.

Be customer-centric

One of the criticisms about Trump’s performance is that he only spoke to his base. But why is that a problem? When Trump uses the term “AOC plus 3,” he uses vocabulary, a particular group of Americans knows from their news sources that establish “I am here for you.” We know that presidential debates are unlikely to make massive shifts in voter preference. Debates have become a way to make a voter feel better about their decision. You should be speaking to specific audiences with your content copy in your marketing efforts. Do not try to talk to everyone. This includes have too large segments for your marketing populations. “My message is to all Californians.” Really? Are all Californians the same? “My message is to all large urban centers in the United States.” Really? New York City and Los Angeles are the same? This does not mean you have to segment to infinity, but you must be focused on your messaging to specific groups. The more your market demographics are amorphous; the more your ROIs are going to be amorphous.

I am not endorsing either candidate in this message. This is not to say that one did better than another. This is important to understand that marketing is everywhere. It is not specific to just your company, your agency, or your product list. The more you can identify trends in non-traditional places, the better a marketer you become.

Connect with me on LinkedIn to share your experiences with marketing and I am happy to offer assistance. Share in the comments you think is better at their brand and marketing: Biden or Trump?