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:
- Make sure to include your Web site address in your advertising.
- On search engines, bid on your company’s name, products, services, and your spokespersons.
- Ensure a common thread in all your advertising and repeat your key phrases.
- 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:
- What they think about your spokesperson and employees
- Your company image
- Product or service utility (is this good food?)
- Convenience
- 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.
How Multi-Channel Marketing Yields Best Results
Q: Dear Biz Coach, after using your suggested tips on managing the boss, I got a promotion in less than three months. Thank you. Things really seemed to turn around after I wrote thank you notes regarding our company benefits to key managers. Now that I know how to market my services in the workplace, do you have any advice on marketing my company online? How did you learn this stuff? (Please keep my name and company confidential.)
A: Congratulations on your career achievement. While I have confidence in self-promotion strategies, I like to self-effacingly tell people I’ve earned every wrinkle and gray hair. Actually, I’ve had the best possible mentors. They didn’t come to me, I sought them out. Whenever someone was successful in ways I wanted for myself, I asked for their input.
You’ve suggested a great topic. The key, of course, is to motivate or inspire people to buy from you.
Yes, it’s true. Online marketing is a good place to be. Published reports indicate Internet advertising dollars average more than $5.5 billion a quarter. Forty percent of Internet advertising revenue has usually been driven by search engines; display ads have accounted for about 32 percent.
And, of course, there is Twitter, LinkedIn and a host of social networking sites.
Not knowing what your industry is, I won’t be specific, but it’s worth considering the results of several developments:
Viral marketing. As tempting as social networking and the Internet are, however, I strongly urge you not to ignore the benefits of traditional media, which drive traffic to Web sites. Millions of potential customers watch TV, listen to the radio and still read newspapers. And media outlets have Web sites. In fact, whether you want credit-worthy customers or those with sophisticated tastes, it would be a mistake not to utilize mediums with a strong news reputation. Today’s fragmented society demands it.
My sense is that viral campaigns – consumer-generated media or how Internet users spread messages via word-of-mouth in social networking – when coupled with TV and other mediums – build brand equity by affecting consumer behavior and direct-response buying.
A key is to make it entertaining while focusing on the marketing goals. It has to be edgy and grainy-looking, and you can’t divulge the advertiser right away.
Getting people to blog about you is another technique and interactivity with customers is another. In other words, these are all forms of online word-of-mouth advertising.
E-mail blasts. According to data from RightNow Technologies, www.rightnow.com, 3 percent of shoppers wanted after-purchase follow-up by retailers. How can you convert shoppers into buyers? Some 42 percent of consumers want fast and easy access to information online. RightNow also says 68 percent were motivated to visit a Web site upon getting an e-mail from a merchant.
That would also seem true in order to attract repeat business.
Lyris, www.lyris.com, a subsidiary of J.L. Halsey, reports it’s true that the majority of large Internet service providers in the U.S. have a low success rate in e-mail deliveries. Readers won’t see your ad, if you use lots of graphics or images. A failure to include a legitimate address prevents deliverability, too, thanks to content filters or junk/bulk folders.
Other factors: The sender’s reputation in mailing history; including its complaint record.
A study by eROI, www.eroi.com, says that attention to detail is critical for strong results. For example, a call-to-action is best when inserted in the e-mail above the fold. Study author Jeff Mills advocates using ALT tags, which are used in HTML and XHTML documents. ALT tags specify which text is to be rendered. Mills says readers are then able to see what the e-mail offer contains. I’ve found this to be especially true when using either my PDA or Blackberry.
ROI. Being able to measure your return on investment is critical. iProspect, www.iprospect.com, a search engine marketing firm, says 88 percent of search marketers are now able to track results. That includes overall business results and search metrics.
Trends in direct response. A study by the Direct Marketing Association confirms there is no longer a distinction between branding and direct marketing, and that marketing across multiple channels is in vogue.
For example, 30 percent of those marketers surveyed say they use TV. Twenty-eight percent include a call for action while 26 percent include a Web address or 800 number across all media advertising.
Online search costs. There have important search-cost findings in a study by Performics, www.performics.com, DoubleClick’s marketing division. The study tracks the progress of search engine ad campaigns. For example, it points out that Yahoo search costs have decreased. Yahoo’s ad system, Panama, is doing well by targeting ads to the right readers.
The use of keywords is up, but the trend prompted increases in average cost-per-clicks and the average cost per keyword. That’s because the use of keywords have increased in recent years.
Selling to tech buyers. A study by KnowledgeStorm, www.knowledgestorm.com, showed 56 percent of tech buyers use three or more keywords when starting their search. Fifty-three percent scan three to five pages in their searches and 53 percent click on sponsored links or paid ads.
Finally, here’s another reason to utilize all channels of marketing: Some 80 percent of tech shoppers admit offline marketing prompts them to search for more information. Forty-three percent of them provide their name, e-mail address, and career information in registering for tech content. But many admit to supplying incorrect phone numbers because they would prefer an e-mail response.
From the Coach’s Corner, even a study by TiVo, the adversary of television advertisers, provides an insight for targeting men. While it concludes that Mother’s Day is more hallowed than Father’s Day – 86 percent of consumers spend more money for mom than they do for dad, and only 51 percent of consumers will observe Father’s Day.
However, the study also shows what dads likely will be doing on Father’s Day: In order of preference, they’ll be watching TV, playing outdoors, working on home improvement projects or reading. The study says 75 percent of men are in charge of the remote control.
If you’re targeting men, do it on TV even though TiVo claims a 17 percent penetration.
To increase odds that their commercials will be seen by even TiVo users, savvy advertisers try to get their commercials scheduled last in the commercial break. Your chances will be enhanced if you use bookends – a 15-second commercial at the start of the break and another 15-second commercial at the end. Other success factors depend on the content of your message and sponsoring the right channels, especially local news.