Thousands eyes were fixed. Hearts were beating hard against the chests. Emotions was high, expectations was weighting on warrior on football field. This was an article moment for David Bekham. He has to take a direct free kick. Human wall was erected in front of football a few yards away. Opponent and helping hands were scattered around in the D-area hustling and bustling. And whistle went off.
Bekham took the kick. It went high in air, cutting it at a very peculiar angle, 46 eyes on the field and thousands off the field were fixed on the rotating wonder. Ball takes a swirling loop and rest is history.
Some says it was the air, some says it was the ball who did the trick. But history has given a name to this loop, “Bend it like Bekham .” Not many loop are famous like this.
Marketing strategists and marketing need to learn a lot from football, game. What was the price of Bekham skill. Priceless! Similarly, Marketing general deliver and perform when emotions and expectation are touching bottom. That defines the difference and worth of these super performers from mediocre. They keep their cool, eyes fixed on target regardless of tense situation around. They do unexpected which even their intense opponent do not expect it. Performers known when the iron is red hot.
Football teaches marketer the superiority of personnel, A-team playing with 10 player against 11 player will always be one down similar, a sales force superior in number to the competitor will be for better.
There would always be a fight between quality and quantity. But as marketing Guru AL Rise say that marketing general never draft their strategy based on quality of personal. That is a risky bet and
Erratic performance can divest the best lay at plan.
Strategy should get success regardless of success of tactics. Similarly match of football should be won regardless of what happens in the games at all cost.
According to Al rise, marketer depends too much on customers expectation, customers feed back, market situation. This restrict their visions of future and make them less than bold marketer should concentrate more on competition to stay a head of the game. Let me show this. Take the example of Michael Dell it is best policy is to do what is not possible today. Competition is still catching up with Dell’s fanaticism of speed of supply chain and Dell next move is to play catching up game.
Second example is Nokia Vs Motorola started a program to bring it quality up to 2 to 3 fault per million, a small unknown funnies company moved into the space, which Motorola has left behind to remove the Motorola from king position. Football coach known the importance of marking up the first kick will keep the opponent morale down. And that’s one of most favored strategy of football coaches leave alone one or two cases.
A super performer marketer know very wall, when to leave battle field for opponent to make him tire competition would jump in, throw their reserve and exhausted. And many times in the process get the black name in market. And then they jump in to finish off the game. Competition loose out all the reserves to thwart the attack. Great Marketer give, their competition, pass to go a head when they see they will surely find the dead wall in front of them. They do it obviously. May be some see their
Timidness in to this act. But in end they understand what they were up to.
Similarly when a defender see the opponent striker is a head of him when ball is still in the mid field. He gives him a pass and whistle go on.
It is an off side, my dear friend.
Arvind Kumar is an Electrical Engineer from a premier Institute, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He has a vast experiene in marketing and management. He is founder and CEO http://www.nuttymarketer.com. You can reach him at arvind@nuttymarketer.com
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