Politics and Business

By FH Cooper | Leave a Comment

Introduction

Many American companies have been holding onto their investment dollars not really knowing what the future holds. Now that there has been a somewhat clearer definition of the direction that the present administration is heading, these companies are starting to commit their dollars to internal expansion. The almost daily rise of the stock market is only one indicator that this is having a positive effect. Let us accept that this will make companies more productive and more competitive.

Enter Marketing

This is where marketing help comes in. There are some areas of Marketing 101 that will never change. There are other areas that are changing very rapidly. Content Marketing, for example.

The book, Epic Content Marketing, defines content marketing

as follows: “Your customers don’t care about you, your products, or your services. They care about themselves, their wants, and their needs. Content Marketing is about creating interesting information your customers are passionate about so they actually pay attention to you.”

Couple this new direction with the rise of social media and the reduction in advertising print pages and you have a new paradigm. Provide potential clients with meaningful information that is useful and can be applied to their present situations, and you strike a meaningful chord in the sales process and start a new rapport with what could be a new client. Some of this new information that clients care about, may be found in analyzing existing and new markets that they have not thought about. This information could affect their bottom line almost immediately. Answer the question “What would it take to get there?” followed up by  “Here’s how we can help”. This is certainly an area where the marketing provider can and should go above and beyond its normal services and put itself in the client’s shoes. By understanding the client’s anxieties and challenges, they are better equipped to suggest a meaningful strategy.

Politics & Business

There has always been some politics in business. Businessmen tend to support legislators who favor their stands on trade, lowering taxes, and a robust economy. Regulations are needed but not to the extent that they choke off the ability to function effectively. Executives and managers are constantly pondering the question, “Should we increase our current share in an existing market or do we expand into new markets with existing products or services?   “How and when do we enter new markets?”

Political actions can result in making it easier and more profitable to do business but it does have its limitations. The relaxing of strict environmental laws, making it easier to trade worldwide, and the supporting of a robust economy all can affect the company’s bottom line.

Today’s executives must not only manage in the face of ongoing change, but they must be aware of the total business environment. They must consider what business imperatives direct the current action, what the competition is doing, what new products or services demand attention, and what as-yet undeveloped products or services are likely to have an impact on their company in the short term.

Dealing With Change

Change has been described as a dynamic force comparable to a hurricane constantly pummeling your ideas, strategies and directions while you are trying desperately to maintain your company on an even keel. Dealing with change while trying to manage a business is no small task. The ideal situation is to harness change and use it to the company’s advantage.

The Future

Corporate leaders, executives, managers and supervisors all need to be aware of change on many fronts and how to manage it for their company’s benefit.

Their commitment should be:

• to manage change effectively
• leverage their core competencies,
• and marshal all their talents to create a new value for their company

One example of how to accomplish this is to maintain good relations with governmental agencies, industry political action groups, political parties, and even with specific politicians who are influential in certain areas that can affect their business.

The relationship between business and politics is here to stay. Learning how to use both in the pursuit of business expansion should be a vital part of every executive’s playbook.

Franklin Cooper © 2019