Politics can teach us a lot about marketing. Ron Paul’s story teaches us more than most. I’m not a Ron Paul follower but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from what he has done well and his problems. What is Ron Paul’s marketing lesson?
The Marketing Concept
When we teach marketing we suggest trying to serve the tastes of consumers, “the marketing concept”. Such logic draws marketers towards positions popular with the public. In competitive markets, there is however another consideration. You should try to move away from your competitors to avoid ruinous competition. In political marketing being different from your competitors allows you the opportunity for a distinct message.
Ron Paul has done half of this superbly well (written in 2013). He has a distinct message and has carved himself a niche in the Republican party, serving the libertarian wing. They love him; funding and invigorating his campaigns.
This leads us to his problem. He may have moved too far from the mainstream Republican voter to win a primary. Paul’s objective maybe just to raise issues — rather than hope to win. In which case failure to grab the mainstream isn’t a concern. If, however, he is serious about wanting to win the nomination he has a problem. His political party nomination market is winner takes all. It isn’t enough to have an ultra-committed 20% of the vote? The obvious marketing logic is that he needs to become more mainstream. Still, how does he become more mainstream without alienating his current supporters? His supporters like him because he isn’t like all the others. Strategic positioning is hard.
Ron Paul’s Marketing Lesson
In the 2012 Republican primary, Paul’s problem can be illustrated as below. He dominated a small set of voters but really needed more support from the larger mass of Republican primary voters.
There are a couple of lessons for the marketer to take from Ron Paul.
- The market you are in matters. Is holding a strong niche a good option in this market? Often it is. In winner takes all markets it is not.
- Balancing movement towards the greater number of customers while staying away from rivals is a useful way of conceptualizing how marketing works.
Your Challenge
What is your company’s problem? Are you:
- Distinct but too niche?
- Do you occupy the mainstream but you blandly seem like everyone else?
Ron Paul is a wonderful marketing lesson. In marketing, you sometimes need to be different (like Paul) and yet mainstream (unlike Paul). Doing both is usually tricky to do.
For more on political marketing see here.
Read: My teaching case covers this and other issues. Neil Bendle, The Republican Primaries 2012 Ivey Publishing, Case:9B13A003, Available here.