Three Questions to Answer Before Allowing Your Business to “ Get Political ” Are you considering having your business take a public stance on a divisive political issue? Answer these questions first. To that end, I propose that you ask yourself the following three questions as
There have been a number of stories in the news recently about small, local businesses who have been caught up in our increasingly divisive national politics. These businesses have either taken a public stance on a controversial topic or have taken some type of action related to such a topic, and subsequently have had their stories “go viral” in the national media. Perhaps the two most prominent examples of this are Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado and The Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia (if you aren’t familiar with these stories, a simple Google search on the name of either business will quickly enlighten you).
a business owner now and consider carefully how you would answer them. Question #1: Is your business being asked to do something that you feel would compromise your moral values? I list this question first, because I think that a person’s moral values get to the core of who they are, and as business owners our brands are, to a certain extent, an extension of ourselves. So, if your business is being asked to do something that you feel would compromise those values, it might very well mean that you must refuse in order to avoid compromising your personal integrity. But…on the other hand…one could argue that a business also has a
In both of these stories, as well as several other similar stories that have appeared in the news lately, the owners of the businesses had no intention of becoming the center of national controversies. They were simply, as the owner of The Red Hen put it, making “uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals.” I will make no statement here as to my own opinion regarding the actions of these business owners—that is not the purpose of this article. I do feel, however, that in
my role as a marketing advisor to small business owners, I should provide some guidance related to this topic--because if one thing is certain, taking a public stance on a hot-button political issue will have consequences for your business. Just as with any other decision that will have consequences for your business, you need to make it in a thoughtful manner after careful deliberation—not in the heat of the moment when confronted with an unexpected situation.
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My name is Kevin Jordan, and I’m a Master Certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultant and the owner of Redpoint Marketing Consultants, a small business marketing agency based in Christiansburg, VA. I publish and distribute the Small Business Marketing Monthly to help keep local business owners up to speed about topics related to marketing and management. I hope you find the content informative and useful.
Last month I went on vacation to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota. Because of production deadlines, I am actually writing this before my vacation. So, I’m going to be optimistic and say that this month I came back after a great trip refreshed, recharged, and ready to get back to my business!
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