Red Zone Marketing's Blog

Winning Isn’t Everything: Business Insights from the Super Bowl

As many of the readers of my blog and Marketing Audibles know, I am a lifelong Packer fan (thanks to my dear Grandmother). And yes, of course I am beside-myself-thrilled that my team made it to, and won the Super Bowl! Here are a few insights I gained during this year’s Super Bowl (even If you’re not a Packer fan):

1. Singing: Apparently knowing all the words to The Star Spangled Banner is not a prerequisite to singing it. You can’t “remix” this song. I hope we never forget what is important about what we’re doing.
2. Forgiving: Everyone makes mistakes. Jordy Nelson dropped 3 near perfect passes. But his QB kept passing to him! Many of us may have stopped after the first mistake and surely after the second. But Aaron Rodgers seemed to forgive, forget, and then continued throwing completing 9 passes to Nelson for 140 yards including a touchdown pass. Forgiving pays.
3. Passion: Packers Charles Woodson, after he found out he had a broken collar bone and could not play in the 2nd half, was quoted saying to a sideline reporter, “I don't think I've cried that much since I was a kid.”  What if we felt that same passion for the work we do? What if more employees did?
4. Labels: I guess we really shouldn’t believe the labels people assign us. Runner up to Defensive Player of the Year, Clay Matthews, was a walk-on player at USC and didn’t start until midway through his senior year. Aaron Rodgers, the Super Bowl MVP, was lightly recruited out of high school with only one college showing interest. Later, he fell to 24th in the NFL draft. Believing the labels others give us, good or bad, can lead to a shortfall in the potential to success ratio. Mindset is more important than talent and talent is more important than talk.
5. Heaven: I believe my Grandma was smiling down at the Packers winning on Sunday night. 

Whoever said “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” was right – especially Sunday. Thank you Mr. Lombardi. Go Packers!

Unconditional Fans

Win or lose, true fans don’t stop cheering for their team. Unconditional fans cheer for their favorite team to win again and again, to move closer and closer to their goals (beating a rival, clinching a series, winning a championship, etc). When our team is losing, we figure out ways to cheer for them some more (rally caps on!). And when they pull through, we share in their success, feeling like winners ourselves because we had our allegiance in the right spot.
 
It is the same for true fans of your business. A fan of yours WANTS you to win. They cheer you on, want to help you, and are proactive in their support. We all have fans that we are grateful for, but the question is -- how can we get more fans? I’d venture to say that all of us could use a few more no matter how many unconditional fans we have.
 
Why does someone become a fan? Being a true fan is more about a feeling than about the tangible products we sell. Observation of successful firms has shown that perhaps the best way to get this loyalty may be through the little things, not the extravagant ones. Listening more than talking, more face-to-face with our best clients, and truly making them feel important. Intangibles.

Measure it! How are you doing? How many clients do you have that are loyal? How many unconditional fans? Maybe 2011 could be the year of the fan – your fans!
 
I have been a Packer fan forever. I’ve seen them in terrible years (remember the 1970’s and early 80’s?) but I never stopped cheering. I’m a fan and would be even if they lost last Sunday to the rival Bears. And it’s a sure bet that I’ll be cheering like wild on February 6 in Dallas. Now if I only had tickets…

Winning Isn’t Everything…

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Vince Lombardi famously said “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” or some variation on that theme.  Do you think it’s true? Is it really all or nothing? Well, what is true, typically, is that the runner up will not be remembered.

Sometimes, our instincts are to minimize the value of winning. We tell ourselves, “It’s ok if we don’t win” or “We’ll get ‘em next time” – but really that’s a justification.  Carrying that mentality makes room for failure before we have even tried to win. It is OK to lose. BUT…
 
It just really isn’t OK to convince ourselves that it is ok. It is mediocre, and from what I’ve seen, often has the effect of undermining the ability to give 100%. NOTE: For those of you that are, right now as you read this, minimizing losing, I ask you to put aside the various exceptions just for now. For instance, the person who wins American Idol isn’t often the best or the one that accomplishes the most fame. OR, the business that wins the big deal with Walmart has such low margins that they cannot afford to fulfill the orders. But, more often, big wins create superstars, superpowers, new leaders and most importantly, momentum.

The fact is that although we WILL ‘get ‘em next time,’ and yes our businesses will survive, and yes life goes on – capitalizing on the opportunities of winning is much better than spending time convincing ourselves that losing is ok.

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The Cheesehead Phenomenon

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Sometimes we do things in certain circumstances that we normally wouldn’t do. I’m a Green Bay Packer fan, born and raised in Wisconsin. You may have noticed that many Packer fans proudly wear on their heads what is commonly referred to as a “cheesehead.” Now, really, what would possess someone of seemingly normal intelligence to wear a bright yellow wedge of cheese atop their head? Would these fans wear their cheeseheads to the bank or grocery store? I hope not! But, they would wear the yellow foam hat in public, at a game, and TRY to be seen on TV in front of millions of people! The reason behind this fanatic behavior is what I call the “Cheesehead Phenomenon.”

The Cheesehead Phenomenon occurs when the experience we are a part of causes us to do something we wouldn’t otherwise do.    

The Packer experience comes from generations of adoring fans who have backed this team through many years of losing in the same way they have supported them through many years of winning. Loyal fans do just that. Packer fans have a great desire to be a part of the experience of going to a game at Lambeau Field. They outwardly share their pride for their team and the State of Wisconsin, starting with a non-negotiable necessity of organizing or attending a pre-game tailgate party filled with lots of brats, beer and, of course, cheese. Fans wear all sorts of cheesehead gear and other unique hunting clothing (some of the warmest clothing you can get for northern weather). People are there for the game, to see their beloved team win, and for the fun. Even when the team has a losing record, they show up merely for the connection with like-minded people, and the thrill of the thought of winning again. Attending a game a Lambeau Field is truly an experience. The cheesehead fan culture is an essential element of the overall experience. People willing to go that extra mile to show their pride in their team and their state, by placing that large yellow wedge atop their heads. Something they wouldn’t normally do.

It is like, for instance, when your clients go out of their way to help you, refer business to you, or drop you a note of thanks; something they otherwise ordinarily would not do. Most people are thinking about themselves and their own lives. The goal is to create a unique experience with our service or product delivery that touches them personally, gets them to do something they normally wouldn’t. Because if we can get them to think about us for a little bit longer, to enthusiastically participate in cheering on our company, everyone wins! 

Are you creating a phenomenon that your clients can cheer about?

www.redzonemarketing.com

Maribeth Kuzmeski, is the author of the new book, The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life (Wiley, September 2009, ISBN: 978-0-4704881-8-8, $22.95)

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