NFL Heroics: Great Metaphors for Business Success

 

Past Super Bowl feats serve as terrific examples to inspire equally superb business performances to achieve profits.

Indeed, enthusiasm and hard work deliver results. Joe Theismann always seemed to be on target as quarterback for the Washington Redskins, but he isn’t always right in predicting the National Football League’s most valuable player.

He didn’t criticize Shaun Alexander’s ability, but Theismann said the Seahawk couldn’t win the award because Seattle is a smaller media market than others, such as New York City. Of course, Alexander was an enthusiastic hard worker and was voted MVP after his record-setting performance in 2005.

The moral? Anything is possible if you dream big, stay positive and work hard.

Good Marketing Captures Emotions. In a nationwide TNS Express Online Survey sponsored by Coors, a poll asked fans to pick their favorite Super Bowl moments. Nearly half of the males said at least one of their early top Super Bowl memories was included in the current Coors TV campaign, “Coors Light Super Train.”

Three of the most-mentioned favorites:

• Joe Namath’s 1969 prediction that his New York Jets would beat the then-Baltimore Colts, which was a lesson in marketing puffery. You might recall he went on to sell tons of products, especially hosiery.
• Hank Stram’s colorful quote the following year, “Pump it in there, baby,” was a lesson in perseverance.
• The invincible “Steel Curtain” of the Pittsburg Steelers, which taught us lessons for protecting brand equity.

Even non-Steeler fans enjoyed watching the team’s cast of defensive stars, including “Mean” Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, and Jack Ham, including Greene’s poignant commercial when he gave his jersey to an adoring nine-year-old boy who gave Mean Joe a Coke.

His memorable commercial also sold a lot of Cokes; unlike many commercials that are clever and cute but fail to generate a good ROI.

Lessons in Execution and Courage. The aerial artistry of Terry Bradshaw’s pass completions to Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were awe-inspiring. The receivers were like graceful ballet dancers as they leaped to catch the ball. They were also tough and never fumbled; examples of mental strength and focus. With his enthusiastic, likable personality, Bradshaw remains popular as an NFL commentator.

But my all-time favorite Super Bowl was in 1980 when the Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams in a highly entertaining game, 30-19. My most inspiring player in that game was All-Pro Ram defensive end Jack Youngblood who played every down of the NFC Title Game and Super Bowl on a broken leg.

So act with courage and execute well. Both are needed for success in business.

Lessons in Marketing Strategy. Reprise Media’s “Super Bowl Search Marketing ScoreCard,” measures how well advertisers capitalize on their Super Bowl advertising investments. The technology firm, www.reprisemedia.com, helps companies increase their brand equity in online marketing.

The company contends that national advertisers fail to capitalize on their Super Bowl commercials by not taking enough precautionary steps in online marketing. That means focus on ad text, keyword selection, and landing page content.

Not to oversimplify, the company offers four basic reminders:

1. Make sure to include your Web site address in your advertising.
2. On search engines, bid on your company’s name, products, services, and your spokespersons.
3. Ensure a common thread in all your advertising and repeat your key phrases.
4. Prevent buyers’ remorse by making visitors feel rewarded. Offer to let them register to win a product and promote interaction with you.

Smaller advertisers, too, can benefit from Super Bowl-like performances by learning from successful national advertisers. You’ll reach the best prospective customers with good credit or high net worth by advertising on local news outlets.

Cost-effective keys to online success include media outlets with strong journalistic standards. You’ll also be amazed how economical their Web sites are, too, if you insert banner and rich media ads. Don’t forget to generate opportunities by submitting quality press releases to their news departments.

From the Coach’s Corner, branding remains an important factor in fast food sales, which has suffered as a result of the economic downturn. It has forced fast food companies to discount prices and focus on value meals. However, as consumers now count their eating out at fast food restaurants as a dining-out treat, the companies with the strongest branding and customer service will win.

Here’s a case-in-point: Wendy’s/Arby’s earned $14.7 million in Q3 2009 a year after their merger. But Arby’s appears to be the weaker of the two and some analysts predict they can only succeed with value meals.

Value meals are a drag on earnings if customer service is not perceived as good. Obviously, that’s a concern in the fast food business, especially when a company does not have a visionary salesperson. (Beloved Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas knew about quality, customer service and what his customers wanted.)

Whether the economy is strong or weak – 18 percent of customers will only buy the cheapest product or service – they’re not likely to return unless you have the cheapest prices. So, you want your stores to succeed on repeat business by targeting the 82 percent who are concerned about price but are influenced by other factors.

My cursory sampling of fast food restaurants shows a connection between a successful fast food stores and the perceived level of good food and customer service. A key ingredient is respect for the customer and showing an attitude of gratitude. The stores that have employees who excel in customer service and say thank you to customers are a catalyst for customer loyalty.

For value-conscious customers, price is important but their purchases are decided on emotion.

In order of importance, their five buying perceptions are:

1. What they think about your spokesperson and employees
2. Your company image
3. Product or service utility (is this good food?)
4. Convenience
5. Price

For more related reading, see: Case Study: Mistakes Companies Make When Losing Profits, The Seven Steps to Higher Sales, and Sports Offers Lessons on Strategic Management and Planning.

Meantime, emulate Terry Bradshaw’s enthusiasm and you’ll get repeat business.

Profits Down? 7 Quick Tips to Get a Competitive Edge

 

Are you an apprehensive business owner? The struggling economy is a sign of declining profits everywhere.

But if you Google the key word “profits” you’ll see there are many companies making money. You, too, can get a competitive edge and overcome economic uncertainty by increasing sales and improving efficiencies.

 Here are seven quick tips to get a competitive edge:

Retain your best employees. Employees with the best potential quit when they don’t feel valued foseveral possible reasons: Lack of career opportunities, chilled relationships with their bosses unhappiness over wages, health care benefits, and flexibility in work schedules. So, money is not always the main issue. Workers feel more appreciated when they are engaged with periodic positive communication. This includes giving workers a sense of control over their careers and explaining possible options for professional growth.

You want employees who will push you up the ladder.

Planning. The biggest misstep for small business owners is failing to plan for the big picture. They’re so busy with daily emergencies that they don’t believe they have time for planning. They see such time as a luxury. The solution is simply to budget the time in order to strategize specific actions and timelines. An old-fashioned SWOT analysis – evaluating your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – will help you create a strategic plan.

Entrepreneurs can’t afford not to take the time to plan. And remember backup options and equipment are needed for contingencies.

Pricing. The tendency now is to slash prices. However, small business owners needn’t give away their power to the big chains by price-cutting. People appreciate outstanding customer service. For most products and services, price isn’t the most important concern for about 80 percent of all consumers.

Customers are like employees – they want to feel special.

Daily prospecting and marketing. Solicit “centers of influence” or strategic partners to attract customers. Look for opportunities to obtain publicity. Advertise to remain in contact with customers and prospects. Sales follow-up, with phone calls, personal visits and note cards will pay dividends. Don’t forget to ask for at least two referrals from each satisfied customer.

For most small businesses, job one for the boss is contacting customers and prospects. If you’re fortunate to have sales reps, each should contact 15 prospects per day— in-person, as much as possible.

Delegating. Most struggling entrepreneurs usually fail to delegate. You’ll grow by learning to delegate. Good employees appreciate opportunities for teamwork and to make contributions to the business.

A smart boss knows how expensive it is not to delegate.

Operations and procedures. Develop formal procedures along with checks and balances. To ensure standards of excellence, make certain that you and employees adhere to policies from bookkeeping to operations. This way, there will be no glitches in your receivables.

Like you, your customers don’t like surprises either.

Other professional relationships. When you’re able, get proper financing and make sure you have a plan to repay funds. Additionally, develop a rapport with a bank manager, good accountant, lawyer and insurance agent. And don’t forget there are affordable group health plans for small businesses. The secrets to getting a competitive edge in small business are planning and execution. As a result, a third dynamic, also known as luck, will mysteriously appear from seemingly nowhere to benefit your company.

I love this quote by chemist Louis Pasteur: “Chance favors the prepared mind.”

From the Coach’s Corner, like great football teams at halftime, good entrepreneurs adjust quickly to fast-changing conditions.

At the end of every day, do a report card. Review the events affecting your business as well as your response to each situation. Evaluate how you performed and how to move your business forward. Then, take the night off, especially after your daily assessment on a bad-hair day.

And tomorrow – keep on trying. Don’t give up.