Do Company Politics Affect Your Shopping Decisions?

When a company takes a strong political stance, it runs the very real risk of alienating half of its potential customers. In a country like America, with a clear 50/50 political divide, massive companies can make significant waves by aligning themselves with a specific cause. As the Founder and CEO of a large private company with a family of 30 companies, I've found that influencing these decisions can be both strategic and controversial.

Negative Implications

Consumers often shop for products or services, not for political statements. It is increasingly common to see businesses incorporate political imagery on their products, which some find quite off-putting. For instance, a menu with diverse offerings can list a Cheeseburger with trendy political statements priced the same as other items. This approach prioritizes political messaging over customer satisfaction and loyalty.

My company has taken a stand by boycotting certain businesses due to their strong political stances that go against our personal values. As a significant shareholder, it's easy to take this step, but the implications for customer relations are significant. Shunning a company because of its political stances can create a negative perception in shareholder meetings and harm long-term business relationships.

Businesses Should Focus on Core Competency

Companies should concentrate on their core competency, which is the product or service they provide, rather than advocating political views. Attaching a political image to a product doesn't enhance its value or meet customer needs. Instead, it may be seen as an unnecessary and offensive add-on.

Childlike Expectations

I believe that the idea of only supporting businesses that align with one's political views is overly simplistic. It's a bit childlike to believe that a single political stance should dictate who is worthy of our patronage. We don't have a monopoly on wisdom, and it's unwise to exclude anyone based on a difference of opinion.

Supporting a business is about their quality, value, and service rather than their political affiliation. If you need a hammer, you should be able to buy it from someone who can provide it at a good price, regardless of their political views. This embrace of diversity of opinion is a strength, not something to be feared or shunned.

Targeted Marketing and Assimilation

Many Americans align themselves with businesses that share their values. While my brother and I prefer to remain politically neutral, I have a dream. I envision a scenario where we could market a shoe store specifically to a targeted demographic, such as conservative voters. This new store would revolve around a rebranded slogan, 'Reyers Your Right Wing Shoe Store,' to attract and serve a more specific audience.

By changing our marketing strategy to reflect a right-wing ethos, we could offer unique products like 'The Right's Rightwing Wingtips' and create a space where one political viewpoint is celebrated. This targeted approach would allow us to offer our services to a highly interested and loyal customer base, leveraging our local community's political alignment.

We could advertise on platforms that align with the target demographic, such as Fox News and Breitbart, and even secure media coverage from attention-grabbing personalities like Hannity and Laura Ingraham. By laser-focusing on this market, we could potentially provoke significant positive press and enhance our customer base.

The key takeaway is that company politics play a critical role in consumer decisions, but this impact is not always negative. By carefully rebranding and targeting a specific demographic, a company can influence consumer behavior positively and strategically.