While it is easy to forget when all of your attention is focused on your business’s continued success, your company stands in the middle of a much larger landscape. You might not feel as though there is a direct connection between your brand and pressing political matters, but there is absolutely an indirect one. That does not mean that you constantly have to position yourself in relation to these changes, but it is something that you have to be aware of.
Understanding where your business stands on topical issues can help you to be consistent in these matters, and that can help you to avoid the pitfalls that come with a more ignorant approach.
When to Stay Quiet
Sometimes, you feel it is best to say nothing at all – leaving the question of how your business feels about a particular topic unsaid. This might be something that you judge based on how heated the discussion is around your business itself – if a large portion of your audience is expecting you to say something, it could be that your silence is more damaging than you realize. Even when you feel as though your brand isn’t directly linked to the issue at hand, it might make sense to treat this as akin to a PR crisis. That might help you navigate it in a way that makes sense to you, using templates already laid out ahead of time.
There are also degrees of silence. Rather than saying nothing at all, you might feel as though it is better to briefly and succinctly make your position known just to confirm which side of the discussion you sit on to avoid anticipation bubbling up around you.
Position Through Actions
Even if you feel as though you can just ride out the storm by saying nothing at all, it is important to remember that your actions might have already spoken for you. If the topic in question is AI, for instance, your use of it in your business makes your stance clear. There is room for you to explain your position to your audiences, but that initial step has already been taken. Even in these cases, it can be useful to just take a step back and learn everything there is to know about the topic in question. You don’t want to be caught off-guard, and if the topic is one that relates to employment, for instance, understanding what is Agentic AI can help you to learn what kind you’re using, whether this is something you’re likely to use, and how that can affect your public position.
Relation to Business Values
This can become a real problem when the way that you have been acting or the stance that you have taken stands in direct contrast to your stated business values. If this happens, audiences might develop an idea of your brand being untrustworthy or inconsistent, casting everything else you say into the same dubious light. Again, one issue here might be resolvable through careful PR work, but making a habit of it can build up some negative associations that might prove much more difficult to shake off. Being consistently aware of your business as a whole – how it positions itself and how you work in relation to that – can help you to avoid a problem like this. If you do decide that you need to change your values, using something like a rebranding might help that feel less like a quiet reversal.
Taking a Firm Stance
It might be that you feel as though a topical issue is actually an opportunity. Rather than something to be avoided out of fear of upsetting a portion of your audience, this could be a chance to improve the perception of your brand to certain people and stand out more as a business that is willing to take positive action. This might be especially relevant when it comes to issues that are seen as especially prominent in business areas, such as climate change. If your business can stand out from others as a positive example, you might not just win the favor of audiences on this matter, but it could help you to be seen as preferable to your competitors in the long run.
As always, however, you are not going to be the only business that has had this idea. You have to be conscious of greenwashing, as is understanding the difference between gesturing towards action and actually taking action.
