The ‘B’ word… it is, literally, everywhere.

Turn on the news, and you’ll be greeted with slanging matches between politicians and ever more elaborate graphics, stats and expert insight telling us what a mess the country is in and how it should be fixed.

This got me thinking. Not about Brexit, exactly, but more about the way it relates to marketing. And for that reason, I’m going to leave my own thoughts about Brexit where they belong - reserved for visits to the pub with mates, dinner with the family and when I’m alone with my thoughts.

So, back to business. And in this first of a two-part blog series, I’m going to explain why Brexit is a prime example of how not to be client centric.

Playing with propaganda

“Once we have settled our accounts, we will take back control of roughly £350m per week,” said Boris Johnson at the start of the campaign as he and other Brexiteers suggested the money would be better spent on the NHS.

This figure, as it turns out, is a gross figure and doesn’t take into account what the country gets back from the EU, or the additional rebate on top of that. No matter which way you swing it, this is propaganda of the worst kind.

Imagine doing something similar in business. For instance, if you claim that someone will save £150 every year on their heating bills when they buy your smart meter but know full well that’s an estimate and can in no way relate to every household, you’re starting your campaign with a lie.

There were plenty more examples of propaganda during Brexit campaigning, from suggestions that the UK’s place in the single market wasn’t under threat to exaggerations about how dependent manufacturing jobs are on demand from Europe.

All of these claims can seemingly be substantiated on the side of busses or on large billboards, but if they’re not true, they’renot true, and the public is far too smart not to get wind of that eventually - particularly if they’re spending money on a product or service.

Campaigning fears and smears

The backlash relating to Brexit propaganda on behalf of the public and media was unsurprisingly vicious. If you take a similar approach with your marketing, you could expect the same from customers who feel misled and lied to.

Then, there’s the people who side with you, and while that might sound positive, Brexit demonstrates why it’s anything but.

Government officials who wanted to remain within the EU reacted by playing on the fears of the public. No more cheap flights; no rescue package if you become stranded abroad; the reinstatement of mobile roaming charges while on holiday in the EU - ‘Project Fear’ was born.

Can you imagine marketing your company by preying on the fears of your customers? It’s unthinkable.

It should come as no surprise that Project Fear resulted in plenty of back-stabbing and passionate debate both inside parliament and within the media. And, as you’d expect, there was plenty of smearing, too, with politicians calling each other out on questionable claims and scaremongering.

I’ve seen this happen plenty of times in business, too, where two competing companies begin battling over a claim made by the other. Whether or not the claim was right, wrong or open to interpretation, the resulting fight is always ugly, embarrassing and simply doesn’t have the customer in mind.

Just as we watch helplessly as politicians get involved in playground squabbles, customers often do the exact same thing with businesses who have become so obsessed with the competition that they’ve lost all sight of what’s important.

Giving your customers the choice

Sometimes, you need to give your customers the choice.

This might be due to a product development which could go one way or another based on demand, or reaction to a new piece of industry legislation that gives your business two options in terms of direction.

This is comparable to Brexit. When we headed to the polling stations on 23rd June 2016, there was a clear choice: remain within the EU or leave. More people voted for the latter, which made it the winner.

It doesn’t get much simpler than that, does it?

If you put a similar vote out to your customers, you’re giving them a voice. That’s a great way to do business; it demonstrates that you’re unafraid to ask for the opinion of your customers and are willing to let them make a big decision.

But what if the result isn’t quite what you wanted?

Accepting the result

You’ll no doubt remember where you were the day it was announced that more people voted to leave the EU than remain. You’ll probably also remember your immediate reaction.

When you put the vote out to a group of people - be it the electorate or a bunch of customers - you need to accept the result, even if you vehemently disagree with it.

Why? Because you decided to put that vote out in the first place; you gave the power of decision making to someone else. It was your choice, so deal with it.

Sound harsh? Not really. Putting something out to vote when you’re desperately hoping for a particular result probably means something is wrong from the outset, but when you commit to the vote, there’s no turning back.

Your customers are the reason your business exists. So, what happens if you receive their winning vote but make a hash of your reaction? Brexit, once again, demonstrates how destructive this can be.

To be continued…