Advertising Your Political Opinions: Risks and Rewards

If you’re a computer business owner, local and national politics impact your bottom line. Even if you don’t have a strong a view on political and legal issues, you might have an opinion on the social issues of the day. Your desire for advertising that opinion may come in conflict with your desire to be profitable. Every business owner needs to think about how they’ll handle political issues.

The Temptation of Political Advertising

As you grow your business, your influence in the community grows. Your impact goes beyond your social media following. If you have a shop, you have foot traffic and visibility. Your client list may have hundreds or thousands of names of people who opted in to hear from you.

With just a little bit of work, you can promote your candidate or your view on the local issue of the day. Clients trust and respect you on matters of technology, so why not politics? This advertising could be a sign in your business window or a footer at the bottom of an email. You might donate money to a campaign or do a gift-in-kind.

If it isn’t a candidate you’re involved with, it might be a social or national issue. In the United States, a recent example of this is Black Lives Matter. Technology companies like AT&T have come out with strong statements about this issue. Another example is Religious Freedom bills and Marriage Equality.

Others Will Ask You

Even if you don’t intend to get involved in politics, you’re likely to be asked. A client might be running for office or have a strong opinion they want you to support. If that client is key to your business, you might not want to offend them by saying no to advertising. You’ll want to keep the client, so how can one sign matter?

If they don’t ask you for a sign, they might ask you to add your name to a petition, write a letter, or give money. The candidate might just request a bumper sticker or to like their campaign on Facebook. Seemingly those are private transactions, so it shouldn’t reflect on your business, right?

Personal Opinions Become Business Advertising

The concept of your business beliefs being separate from your personal beliefs is nice in theory. The general public doesn’t always see it that way. They view the business as a reflection of the personal values of the business owner. Most of the time that concept works in your favor. You’re a good person who can be trusted and that trust extends to your business.

If you take a personal political stance, that viewpoint also belongs to your computer repair firm. You don’t even have to work at the company for the media to take this approach. For example, the founder of Home Depot (who left in 2002) has taken stances that reflect negatively on the company.

When you give money to a candidate in the US, that becomes public record in most instances. Someone passionate about the other side can easily look up your name and cross reference your business. I know this because I used to work in a newsroom and help reporters do this.

The media outlets I worked with often had strong conflict of interest policies. I was prohibited from donating to any candidate or cause. I wasn’t allowed to have any social or political bumper stickers on my car or property. The reason was simple: they didn’t want candidates to say anyone at the newspaper was biased. Even if I was “just a computer guy,” my advertising could impact other writers. A sanitized newsroom is a safer newsroom according to our ethical guidelines. That might be a good guide for your business too.

Involvement Without Your Consent

If you’re busy with your computer repair business, advertising politics may not be of much interest. You might vote, but beyond that you’re managing and fixing computers. That’s not enough of a barrier to escape your business being branded as political.

Since donations are usually public record, an investigator might find a family member or employee of your company on a list. That contribution or involvement attaches a connection to your business. Sometimes this research is a deliberate way of swaying opinion, good or bad. A candidate might reference your company as a supporter based on the association with you. Clients will then judge your computer repair business and not just you as a political supporter.

That involvement goes beyond your family. Journalists and other writers often want to get a “man-on-the-street” view on a local or national issue. They might walk into your business and ask your opinion. Since you or your staff like talking to customers, you might give an opinion. That client though might tell others and all of a sudden you become the subject of a news story.

An excellent example of this situation is the Indiana pizza company giving an opinion on same-sex marriage. Pizza isn’t something you associate with a wedding or social issues, but you might get drafted. Pizza parlors also became a focal point of the 2012 election.

Accidental Advertising of Political Opinions

Even if nobody in your family or employment is directly involved with politics, the actions of your vendors or landlord might be seen as an endorsement. Clients of mine have struggled with this problem. A local strip mall owner prominently displays political signs in the parking lot. Those signs, although unfairly, get associated with the tenants of that mall. The tenants are powerless to stop the landlord. When my landlord professed an unpopular opinion, activists came by my business to protest. That wasn’t good for my business and resulted in wasted non-billable hours.

The most dangerous (and unfair) way your business might get associated with a cause or candidate is by doing your job. These political organizations might need computer service and they call you for help. Someone sees your employee or vehicle outside of the headquarters and all of a sudden, people assume your business supports the cause. Then you’re on the defense and clients or the public ask if you support the cause.

Drafting Your Employees and Vendors to the Cause

Just like others around you might push their opinion on you, you might be pushing it on others. That simple sign in the window or that $10 donation makes this awkward for those who work with you.

Employees, in particular, might feel uncomfortable. People unfairly assume that employees of a business share the political viewpoints of that business. After all, if the employee didn’t agree they should quit. Activists might put pressure on your staff about the viewpoints you take. At the very least it’s a distraction to daily operations. At worst, it causes tension in the workplace that could spill over into client interactions.

Similarly, the vendors you deal with might feel uncomfortable continuing with you. If the public sees you taking a political stance, activists might tell your vendors not to do business with you. The theory behind this maneuver is to force you to change your opinion. If boycotting your business isn’t enough, they might try to pressure your vendors to change your mind. When a newspaper runs a very unpopular article, activists contact the advertisers of the paper. A good example of this is when Gawker ran controversial articles. Advertisers pulled ads and cost Gawker revenue.

The Risks of Political Advertising

The obvious risk of political advertising is directly alienating your customers. If they disagree with your opinion, they might stop doing business with you. Word-of-mouth works against you in this arena again. They’ll tell others not to do business with you. You might be on a boycott list within your community or caught in the middle of two movements.

The other risks might be a little more subtle. Clients might not even realize the bias they have against your business. When a customer service issue comes up, they might be less likely to give you the benefit of the doubt. The invoice to you might be paid a little slower than normal. When that contract comes up for renewal, the negotiation might be harder. A recent study shows that political bias can impact the healthcare industry, so it isn’t much of a stretch to see it impacting computer repair.

The Rewards of Political Advertising

If you’re on the popular side of a political opinion, advertising works in your favor. If you sponsor a local school event or sports team, your community sees you as one of their own. The positive association with that sponsorship transfers down to your business. People do business with those they know, like and trust. You’re curating your customer base. You might not want business from people who don’t share some core political values.

When you take a stand and get involved, others who support that cause want to do business with you. Your allies will post your opinion on social media. They’ll take pictures of the sign in your windows and tell people to shop with you. Some people will come in to thank you for your stand.

I saw this impact first-hand in my community. When our state legislature proposed some controversial bills to limit service based on religious beliefs, local businesses put signs that said: “We reserve the right to provide service to everyone.” It was a cute take on a classic slogan. I joined this movement and went on local news stations taking a strong stance.

How to Navigate the Risks and Rewards

You want to be an informed and active citizen. Your right to free speech doesn’t drop the minute you hang out your shingle. Free speech, though, isn’t speech without consequences. People wouldn’t talk about political and social issues if there weren’t two sides to them. Supporters will love you while detractors will chastise you.

Playing it Safe

The more heated the campaign, the more distance you’ll want to keep. A simple city council election probably doesn’t generate much controversy. The “safest” participation is to contribute money as an individual. That contribution is unlikely to be associated with the business unless someone “calls you out” on it. A boring race doesn’t generate much interest and thus not much research. The riskiest is a campaign sign in your business window or putting your name on the campaign’s letterhead. That leaves no doubt to clients and potential clients about your stance. I won’t walk into a business that has the sign of a candidate I disagree with. If the sign is offensive enough, I won’t ever walk in.

If you own a computer repair business, the focus should be fixing computers. Getting involved in social and political issues will often be a distraction to your work. Unless you can trace an overwhelming benefit like increased foot traffic or media attention, it’s safer to take a pass on involvement. To keep your business neutral, keep political signage and opinions far away from you and your business. That involvement includes social media.

In preparation for this article, I did a little sleuthing on acquaintances who owned a computer repair business. Many of them were supporters of one of the candidates running for president in the US. Some of these business owners even had their avatar as the business name. If I were a competitor of theirs, I’d be sure to let the opposition know about that owner’s support! Not really, but I’d be tempted to. Even if your privacy settings are set high, you still run that risk of association on social media.

Keeping Quiet

While you can’t control what your employees do outside of work, ask them to keep their politics at home. That neutrality includes stickers and buttons. In particular, they should avoid speaking to the media and connecting that interview with the business. Saying “no comment” is a powerful tool to control reporters. If journalists quote your employees in an article outside of work, please ask them not to name who they work for. If they’re servicing a campaign in a company vehicle, you might ask them to park a few blocks away to avoid association.

Some computer repair business owners will see this as an infringement on their free speech or that of others. I’d advise those owners to remember the primary focus of their business. If you want to be a politically active computer repair business, then go for it! Niche markets work. Realize the risks and rewards though to yourself, your employees, your clients and your vendors. Don’t surprise them. Instead, make your political beliefs well known so those people can make a decision if and how to do business with you.

How I Approach These Issues in My Business

Very deliberately. I have strong political beliefs, but I try to keep them private outside the voting booth. I rarely give to political causes. If I engage in political discussion, I try to do it only with my closest friends and family. I avoid political discussions in social media, even when actively baited to express a stance.

I can’t control what my spouse does, so we do have some political signs in our yard. Since I’m not a home-based business, I accept that risk. If I were still working out of my home, I wouldn’t do it. If the signs are up in the yard, I take the magnetic signs off my vehicle while parked at home.

Members of my team do have political opinions. We never give out staff last name to clients, and they are instructed not to disclose whom they work for. Any vehicle they take to a client location can’t have political bumper stickers and all equipment should be free of political statements. I have a strong idea of what their views might be, but we try never to discuss them.

When I Broke My Silence

I have made my political opinions known a few times. I’m a strong proponent of municipal broadband. I believe as a computer repair business owner, broadband ownership directly impacts our customers. We see the difficulties our clients have with reliable internet, so this position was directly aligned with our business goals.

The other time I spoke out against so-called religious freedom bills, as I mentioned earlier. As a business owner, I work hard to serve my community. I wanted my clients to know we won’t deny them service based on our beliefs or their beliefs. We closed our business on Valentine’s Day in protest and changed our voicemail to reflect that. Then,  multiple media outlets interviewed me and gave us tons of free publicity. I asked all my team if they were okay with my stand. I also paid them for the day even though we closed. It was a risk I was willing to take and it paid off.

Beyond those few times, we decline any and all requests regarding political and social issues. When someones asks me give money to a campaign, I inform them about our company policy. One time both a candidate and her competitor used us for service, so I saw that as a huge win in the trust department. We didn’t have our vehicle signage on at either location.

Decide Now, Before Someone Decides For You

If you don’t set a policy now, a campaign might draw you into a conflict without your consent. If you already have a policy in place you can use that policy to safely respond to political requests. Thinking about this problem in advance keeps your civic duty and the duty to your business in alignment.

Written by Dave Greenbaum