Has The World Gone Haywire?

Today, every business faces a similar dilemma; visibility on the day’s issues.

Black Lives Matter or Every Life Matters? Do you address gender issues? Should vaccination passports be encouraged?

Controversies are growing exponentially, with the volume on each cranking up significantly. Society’s become SO polarized that every topic has a political tinge. Business as usual’s a thing of the past.

When a Carlsbad liquor shop owner wore his face mask around his chin and sneeringly told a customer he’s doing the bare minimum to suit the law, another customer walked out swearing to never return.

There’s a local restaurant serving customers seated in a pop-up tent in a parking lot. The restaurant complies with the letter of the law, but not the spirit. Many customers see this as disingenuous and go elsewhere.

And Delta, Coke, Dell, and over 170 other major businesses are protesting legislative efforts to disenfranchise voters. Major League Baseball has moved its All-Star game from Atlanta for the same reason.

These companies didn’t suddenly find a conscience, but instead are responding to customers complaining about their prior refusal to step up and do “the right thing.”

Obviously, consumer activism has kicked up a couple notches and can be expected to stay at this heightened level. Boycott threats and shareholder protests are exploding in volume, in large part due to social media.

In the past we’ve talked about the value of staying apolitical in your business, lest you offend prospective customers.

Now things are changing drastically. Anyone interested in long-term growth should be carefully watching a range of news feeds to determine issues most likely to impact their customers…then be on the right side of those issues.

This process begins with your marketing plan, of course. Knowing your perfect customer’s profile helps you understand to whom you’re selling and what their perspective might be.

However, don’t just look at today’s clientele, but demographic trends and who you’ll be selling to in 10 years. Population diversity is increasing, meaning taking the wrong stand today could put you out of business tomorrow.

The world’s shifting beneath our feet, and doing (or not doing) practically anything today is an invitation to abuse. It’s time to protect your business by knowing your customer, your business, and where you’re looking to go together.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

----------
Get more attention at www.marketbuilding.com.