We all have opinions and beliefs which is fine and good but dragging divisive opinions and beliefs into your marketing strategy could cost your business big time. Don’t get me wrong, I personally have some pretty strong beliefs and opinions that I am more than will to stand up for but I have refused to incorporate them into my business’ or my clients’ marketing strategies and for good reason.
Local Web Design and SEO in Kansas City, MO
At the time that this blog is being written, Kansas City (and our entire country for that matter) is polarized on a variety of issues. Civil unrest is a daily news blip and with elections on the horizon in November, there is no shortage of back and forth banter among opposing opinions both online and offline. The funny thing about all of the chaos and insanity is that marketers are finding ways to still get into your head and plant the seeds of their products or services but they are doing it very, very carefully so as not to cut themselves off at the knees. Let me explain: a few weeks back I published a blog titled Marketing In The Age Of COVID-19 where I briefly touched on making sure your marketing efforts don’t piss off 50% of the people you are trying to get to. But I feel like this needs to explored even more particularly in light of some recent campaigns I’ve been following closely that are failing in a major way. If you are from the Kansas City area and you listen to the radio or watch TV, you may have noticed that a very prominent plumber in the area has decided to throw his hat into the ring and run for senate in Kansas. What’s odd is that his hilarious political ads are often followed by or preceded by his ads for his plumbing business. To be fair, I learned that he no longer actually owns the plumbing business but is still the “face” of their marketing campaigns. It’s a free country and more power to a guy that started out as a plumber that ends up running for public office once he sold his company but his rhetoric is highly divisive and word on the street is that the plumbing company is suffering as a direct result of it. You can watch for yourself as the train wreck happens in real time but it is no mystery as to why the plumbing business in which he’s still the “face” of is drowning. Any time you drag politics, polarizing opinions, or beliefs into your marketing efforts you should expect repercussions from those on the opposite side. Republican vs Democrat. Pro-life vs Pro-Choice. Pro police vs anti-police. Etc. Etc.
The goal of marketing your business is to get the word out about what you do, how your do it, where you do it, and why someone would choose you to do it for them and I’m having a hard time thinking of an instance where political or philosophical beliefs would come into play as a means of enhancing a marketing message aside from, well, political marketing. The truth is that anyone opposed to your opinions will likely be opposed to your business because in this day and age, we have a hard time seeing other points of view which makes marketing with politics or any mildly controversial subject matter dangerous and likely ineffective. I’m not saying don’t stand up for your beliefs and ideals but make sure that you consider whether or not they have anything remotely to do with what you do and who you might piss off to the point that they don’t want to do business with you. Sadly, we have all become more easily offended and triggered and it likely won’t get any better anytime soon. We recommend you focus on what you do and/or sell and let the idealists fight it out on social media because the fact is that you won’t change anyone that has already made up their mind as to what they believe. Keep your marketing neutral and go after everyone instead of having people come after or boycott you and your business based on your personal beliefs. You can’t please everyone but you’re marketing efforts will be phenomenally more effective when you focus more on what you do, not how you personally think. Sure it’s hard to appeal to everyone but that’s why my clients pay Web Force KC to do it because it is far from easy. That’s just one of the things we do for our clients.
Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for effective web design and online marketing in the Kansas City area.
