It's about how we communicate...
The first thing I observe is the use of traditional communications tools alongside 21st century techniques and technologies. The spoof posters are out there again – a traditional communications vehicle bought into the 21st century with airbrushing and photo-shopping, putting Cameron on the bonnet of Gene Hunt’s Audi Quattro from the BBC TV series Ashes to Ashes, and a grinning Gordon Brown against headlines like ‘Let 80,000 criminals out early. Vote for me’.

Clever, witty and I’m sure the art directors in the advertising agencies that produced these campaigns are pretty pleased with the results. But are they just too much technique and not enough substance, as some have accused Clegg of being in the TV debates?

Being too clever in your marketing communications can backfire for any business.

The second, very traditional method of reaching out to the public is the campaigning in the street, getting around our towns and cities pressing the flesh. What interested me about this is not so much the fact the politicians are doing it, but how they are trying to use what they hear on the campaign trail to try and reach out to voters. All three have referred to people they’ve met whilst out campaigning during the TV debates in an attempt to get us, the voter, to believe that they understand our plight and are listening to our views. Of course if you're still wearing a lapel microphone you really ought to think more carefully before discussing your views of the 'customer'!

The technique of listening to and playing back what the customer or client says, can however be used effectively in business. Whether it’s using testimonials to endorse your product or responding to feedback by making changes to your product or the way you deliver your service, direct client feedback can be invaluable.

Like Gordon Brown we might not always like the feedback we hear, but you can bet that for every one person that's willing to tell it to you straight there are more out there thinking exactly the same thing. It's better to hear the feedback and be able to respond than have clients defect without knowing why.

The TV debates have been an interesting political and communications experiment in my view, which coupled with the regular daily polls and close analysis of voters’ opinions, could have a real impact on the result on the 6th May.

Most businesses don’t have access to the kind of financial clout the political parties have and can’t afford TV or poster campaigns. But we do all have the same ability as the parties to use social media to get our message across. Blogs, tweets and emails can all be used, as the three main parties are doing, to spread a message and keep that message alive. There’s a lot we can learn about communication from the party websites. Look for example at the Conservative Party home page – with the call for subscribers to Cameron’s weekly email, the list of 6 ‘what we stand for’ items and the use of video, photos and localised search to engage the user in the site. On the Labour Party site there are links to Gordon Brown’s personal blog as well as what looks like a direct Facebook feed. Interestingly the Liberal Democrats site tries to get you to subscribe for news and information even before you enter the main site.

Content is more important than fancy techniques
Clever messages, witty posters and tweets and even blanket TV coverage won’t be enough to win votes however, unless you are believable and you deliver a message the audience wants to hear.

Reputation in business is all important – and so too in politics. And at the moment, it seems our politicians are struggling to get some voters to believe in their promises. Perhaps not surprising after the debacle of the expenses row, the significant debt the country is carrying and the accusations between parties of lies and deception.

No business would succeed if it behaved in this way, reneging on its promises to customers, failing to keep stakeholders properly informed of the financial situation or having directors and senior managers with their hands in the till. It’s incredible when you think about it!

Competition in action
There perhaps couldn’t be a more direct example of competition in action than in an election campaign. What I think is useful to observe is how ‘knocking the competition’ isn’t always an effective approach. In the Sky Election Debate on 22nd April 2010, the control audiences responded negatively with their voting buttons whenever one of the candidates made an attack on another.

My view has always been that competition bashing in business is a poor substitute for having great products yourself which you are confident in and feel proud to promote.

Inconsistency will hang you
Most businesses are not so much in the public eye that their every movement and comment is scrutinised in the same way the politicians are. But, we can learn from how the media and the public respond to what are seen as failings in the message or the delivery. Watch how quickly interviewers pick up on any inconsistencies that creep in when ministers are interviewed. They are very quick to point out when it appears someone is ‘off message’.

Your business doesn’t have the instant feedback from the media (or the pollsters), so you’ll need to find other ways to assess whether everyone in your business is delivering a consistent message, and whether they are being believed. Things like the number of client recommendations you get, leads to sales conversion ratios and the amount of repeat business you experience are all useful measures. If you don’t already monitor these, maybe you should. Mystery shoppers can help tell you whether your sales force are ‘on message’ and customer surveys will help determine whether your customers are happy with the service being delivered.

A clear proposition
Perhaps the main area in my view where the political parties could really learn from business – at least the best businesses, is in having a clear and unique proposition or brand. It seems one of the main reasons the polls are so close, and voters are struggling to come to a decision on who to vote for, is that there’s really very little to choose between the three main parties. As business people we know that our business needs to stand out from the crowd. Our customers and clients need to be very clear on what they will get from us. We need to deliver clear and consistent messages. If they buy from us they need to get a good product that they believe is value for money and fit for purpose, and that delivers the promises made. They don’t want to hear us knocking the competition instead they want to know what we can do for them.

Can we learn from Cameron, Brown and Clegg?
I’m not sure how much most business owners will learn from observing the political parties campaigning during this election, but I’m pretty sure that if the politicians stuck to some of the core principles of marketing and business: find out what your customers want and need; get your product right; be consistent in your messages and deliver real value, they would be able to convince swing voters more easily.

Let’s see what the 6th May brings. Until next time...

Further reading:

• How to avoid expensive marketing mistakes
• Four steps to profitable competitor intelligence