President Donald Trump opened his second term in office with sweeping executive orders reflecting the political dynamics that shaped the 2024 election and will govern the early days of his administration. That policy agenda reflected a years-long frustration from voters, built on the belief that those in charge have looked out for themselves at the expense of everyone else.
This frustration is not limited to Washington. Businesses are operating in the same environment that drove major shifts across most voting demographics in 2024. Some business leaders have already begun to build corporate war rooms to prepare for major changes to tax, immigration, trade and energy policy.
But businesses can’t simply react to these dynamics—they must internalize them. If they fail to learn the lessons of the 2024 elections and the dynamics that catalyzed a major shift in power in Washington, they will be vulnerable to the same forces.
Voter Sentiment: Two Pillars
Prior to the election, Narrative Strategies conducted a deep dive into voter sentiment and how it could affect public policy in 2025 and beyond. Our national voter survey, conducted by two trusted polling firms representing both sides of the political spectrum, tapped into the frustrations that came to the forefront as ballots were being tallied. The data compiled by UpOne Insights and Impact Research previewed two pillars of voter sentiment that proved to be pivotal in November: frustration with rising costs and an overwhelming distrust of elites.
These messages are not difficult to translate from the political environment to the business world. If companies and CEOs are perceived to be looking out for themselves rather than the palpable economic concerns of consumers, those consumers will respond accordingly. Three-quarters of voters believe that businesses are doing just that, and the percentage of voters who specifically identify “corporate greed” as the leading driver of high costs has risen 15 points in the last year alone.
Meanwhile, disdain for elites has broken contain and evolved into a new issue set. At 82% of all voters, concern over elites holding too much power now outranks traditional concerns like the long-term solvency of Social Security (80%), the availability of good-paying jobs (71%) and affordable healthcare (66%).
Reputation Management and Communication
Businesses hoping to survive this dynamic can’t simply lay low and hope that it passes. Instead, they will have to outflank it. Cookie-cutter approaches to reputation management and communicating with consumers simply won’t suffice. The growing frustration among Americans requires big businesses to differentiate themselves from their industries at large, which are broadly viewed negatively by the public.
The data shows this is possible: industries like tech and pharmaceuticals fail to earn positive ratings overall, but Amazon enjoys a favorability rating of 81%, while Google and CVS are both viewed favorably by 73% of voters.
This signifies that companies can still build significant brand capital, even if their larger industry faces challenges—an increasingly important goal as the appetite for antitrust measures receives growing bipartisan support and the incoming administration has signaled it will still be willing to target certain sectors with the power of regulatory and enforcement agencies. In fact, the survey finds that more than twice as many Americans now believe that companies have become too big and influential than those who believe the federal government does not need to step up antitrust enforcement.
The First-Mover Effect
Not everything about this environment is dire. New challenges also create new opportunities. Companies looking to enhance their reputations with political stakeholders or advance policy goals stand to gain from the first-mover effect.
With Congress slated to consider a host of measures that could profoundly impact businesses in 2025—ranging from taxes to trade to artificial intelligence—it’s more important than ever that business leaders leverage a trusted army of authentic stakeholders and validators.
Winning in Washington will require creative storytelling, whether you are defining yourself or the issues your company will face. Savvy political players will be able to flip the script and proactively define elites on their own terms by doing the following:
- Meeting People Where They Are: Voters have expressed that they feel shortchanged and struggle with rising costs. Businesses should speak to those anxieties, not past them.
- Curating Authentic Messages: Highlight stakeholder narratives—like those of customers, suppliers and employees—to help counter widespread disdain for elites and corporate greed.
- Minding the Gap: Clearly communicating your value proposition can help build brand capital, but be aware that goodwill amongst consumers does not guarantee political capital to influence policymakers and regulators.
Big business might not have been on the ballot in November, but the same political forces that drove those results will also drive critical outcomes for corporate America. Business leaders must understand that they are operating in an environment that is closely tied to voter sentiment, hyper-partisanship and rejection of those in power.
Voters have made their feelings about elite institutions clear. Unless they wish to be swept away by the shifting tide of American politics, businesses must respond accordingly.
Ken Spain is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founding partner of Narrative, a national strategic communications firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.