Voter Perceptions: A Segmentation and Positioning Analysis of the US Political Climate

Abstract

Today’s political climate is turbulent and polarized. It appears that liberals and conservatives and their respective parties are continuing to grow further apart ideologically, making it increasingly difficult to work together for the good of our country. Marketing researchers use segmentation and positioning analysis to gain a better understanding of consumers’ perceptions to increase their success in the marketplace. In this paper, we demonstrate that these same multivariate methods can be used to investigate the current political climate. Across three samples, we find support for political polarization based on voters’ views of important political issues. We also find that although the political parties align well with their ideologically typical issues, the presidential candidates (Trump and Biden) do not align well with the issues or their parties. This leads to the conclusion that they may not the best candidates for their parties or the voters. Consumer centric marketers want to help consumers make better decisions so that they are more satisfied with their consumption choices. Ideally, politicians should also want to help voters make better decisions so that voters are more satisfied with their choices of who is best suited to lead our country. The primary contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the application and benefits of using two common marketing analytics methodologies in the investigation of important political issues and voter perceptions. Additionally, this paper also provides practical implications that are applicable to political scientists, political practitioners, and voters.