People don’t vote for what you do, they vote for why you do it (lessons for the Lib Dems)

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Many in the Lib Dems have talked about the crowded centre ground of British politics and this makes it a more difficult place to be distinctive. But tradition still clearly plays a big part in people’s voting habits. The traditional voter base of the Conservative and Labour Parties are much larger than that of the Liberal Democrats. So how do the Lib Dems increase their traditional voter base?

How many people know what the Lib Dems are for? A recent survey found that many people had no idea what the core principles of the Liberal Democrats were although they identify the party with a commitment to “fairness”. So if many people don’t know why the Lib Dems do what they do then it won’t be a surprise that they won’t vote for them.

Apple may be a good company to learn from. It pioneered the home computer and built up a reputation only for mistakes to create damage to its reputation. In 1997 its CEO was sacked amid a 12 year record low stock price and crippling financial losses. Yet they have gone on to be the largest computer company making repeated iconic technological equipment with a loyal customer base. So how did they do it?

Apple was not the first to produce mp3 players and were not the first to produce tablet computers but they are synonymous with these products. Why did the companies who invented these devices in the first place not do well? The answer to this and more lie in this fascinating video from TED talks:

The crux of the idea is that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. So for Apple it is not that they make computers, many companies do, it is that they push the boundaries of technology which happen to produce excellent gadgets with smart designs, so people buy them. What you do just proves what you believe.

And this lesson is non-truer than in politics. Martin Luther King Jr gave the ‘I have a dream speech’ and people flocked to see him. He did not make the ‘I have a plan speech’. People were attracted to the belief, the ‘why’, and not the ‘how’ or ‘what’. When Labour won a majority in 1997 people believed in what they stood for, they did not know how or what they would do – Labour weren’t sure of this – but they sold an idea and it resonated.

Equally, this generally election the fairness agenda came out strongly in the Lib Dem campaign and so it may not be a surprise that this is what people associate with the Lib Dems. If what the Lib Dems believe in is fairness, then those who believe in fairness will vote for them. However, if what they do does not seem like it is fair, then this just disproves your beliefs – and no one will vote for them.

So it could equally be said that people don’t vote for what you do, they vote for why you do it; what you do just proves what you believe.

Stick to your beliefs, do what you do because of your beliefs and you will increase your voter base. The goal is not to do business with anybody who needs what you will do in government for them, but to do business with those who believe in what you believe.