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Football Offers Lessons For Business Owners
by Maribeth Kuzmeski

As a football fan, I always look forward to the Super Bowl as the highlight of the annual sports calendar. As a marketing specialist, I can't help but notice that this exciting, action packed time of year is also filled with valuable lessons for businesses struggling to make it in their own Super Bowl.

What I call the "Business Super Bowl" is that ongoing, never ending push for companies to.survive in a dog eat dog struggle with their competitors. Especially in our current economy, but even in the best of times, no company can truly afford to rest on its laurels.

Either stay on top of your industry or get knocked out of the competition. It's that simple and that brutal. Companies today have to be tough as nails to stay in the game.

My new book, Red Zone Marketing: A Playbook For Winning All The Business You Want (Facts on Demand Press, 2002, ISBN 1 889150 34 7, $17.95 ), shows how you can adopt a football mentality to help you meet your business goals.

Red Zone Marketing compares the most critical and magnified area on the football field, the red zone (the final 20 yards before the goal line), to the most critical and magnified area in business, that unmarked territory where you either lose or win a prospective customer.

Here are some of the strategies you can use to win your own Business Super Bowl:

  • Strive for great leaders who make the game plan clear to all. What makes a football team Super Bowl material? Generally speaking, it takes great leadership (say, an outstanding coach and/or quarterback) and a solid game plan that every member of the team can recite in his sleep.

    • A winning company needs these two key ingredients. By embracing the principles of Red Zone Marketing you can become a great leader. And if you create a solid game plan around these principles and get everyone on your team behind it so that you speak with one voice your company will become an unstoppable force.

  • Know your competition and never underestimate them. No question about it: There have been some surprises in football over the years. Indeed, there always are, which is what makes the game so exciting. The same is true in the business world, so pay attention to your competitors and never stop innovating.

    • Realize that when you're on top, you're a bigger target. The sobering truth is that you have a great big bulls eye painted on your back. You can never let your guard down; you must strive harder than ever to give clients and customers outstanding, stupendous service.

    CHANGE VENUES

    If your playing field isn't working for you, build a new one. Football players know that an unfavorable field can mean the difference between a winning and a losing season. While football teams may not have the luxury of changing their playing fields, businesses do.

    For example, if you're a financial planner trying (and failing) to sell mutual funds to 30 something professionals, maybe you'd be better suited focusing on selling your estate planning services to seniors. So if you're trying and trying but keep failing, recognize that you may be on the wrong field and get busy changing it. Agility and flexibility are absolute necessities.

  • Accept that past performance does not guarantee future performance. Often in football, last year's stellar team is this year's dud. (Note the change in fortune for the St: Louis Rams last year.)

    • Never assume that just because a strategy once worked, it will always work. Your business environment is constantly changing along with the players; therefore, your marketing tools and methods must change right along with it.

    Always keep your fan base stimulated. Except for the "diehard loyals," football fans can be a fickle bunch. Usually, when a team is losing, they lose. more than the games, they potentially can lose a good portion of their fans.

    It's simple, either stay on top of your industry or get knocked out of the competition.

    The same is true of your fans, i.e. your clients. They have short attention spans and, unless you've consistently worked to earn their loyalty, will desert you for the first competitor that offers them a price discount.

  • Pay attention to your bench, there may be some real talent there. When quarterback Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams was injured last year, everyone was stunned when his back up, Marc Bulger, rose to the occasion. Don't assume that your "stars" are the only players who can lead your company to victory. Sometimes a tremendous talent is sitting, undiscovered, on your bench.

    • Block and tackle for your clients. Every football fan knows that it takes a good offense and a good defense to win the Super Bowl. The phrase "block and tackle" is as applicable to business professionals as it is to NFL teams.

    First and foremost, get to know your clients' business and anticipate their problems. That way you can "block" potential problems from occurring, which is the "prevention" part of the equation.

    The other, more obvious part involves "tackling" existing problems they're experiencing. Essentially, you're giving them what they want (the solutions they're paying you for), plus something extra (a dose of preventive medicine they didn't even know they needed)!

  • Embrace this credo: If you can touch it, you can catch it. This phrase is often used by football coaches attempting to get their receivers to reach out and grab the ball whenever it is close.

    • What it means to business leaders is more inspirational: if you can see an opportunity, you can win it. Nothing is out of reach! If you can imagine your company winning that big client, then go for it. This spirit of optimism, this unfailing passion, is part and parcel of the Red Zone Marketing philosophy.

    WOO REPEATERS

  • Create an experience that keeps them coming back for more. Great football teams go all out to give their fans an incredible, exhilarating, unforgettable. experience one that convinces them to come back again and again. You should do the same.

    • I call this "creating client delight," and my book offers many examples of how to do so. Your clients may not paint their faces or jump up and down flinging popcorn on their neighbors, but they should find every interaction with your company memorable and exciting.

    Keep in mind that every interaction with a client is another opportunity for you to gain a loyal fan and all the positives that go along with that.

  • Remember, last minute turnarounds can win a game you thought was lost. Every football fan knows the exhilaration of seeing a sudden turn of events change the outcome of a game that everyone "knew" was over. How exciting and how inspiring!

    • Business leaders, too, must embrace the "it ain't over till it's over" philosophy. As Red Zone Marketing stresses over and over, the secret to success is to adopt and live by a "never give up" attitude. Keep your eyes on the prize, and give it a 100% effort until the game is really and truly over.

    Never assume that just because a strategy once worked, it will always work.

    This last thought giving it your all is truly the cornerstone of Red Zone Marketing, and it's the only way a company can ever win the Business Super Bowl.

    The whole point of my philosophy is to assume that you're always playing in the Red Zone. You must live in the Red Zone, knowing that your competition is unpredictable, the rules are forever changing, and only by being agile and flexible can you win consistently.

    Remember, a one time win doesn't cut it. There's always the next game, and the next, and the next after that. It takes toughness and commitment to make it to the Business Super Bowl but the rewards are well worth the effort. They can include increased sales and profits and happier customers.