The Secret of Success in Football – and in Business
A minute after it’s over, we cannot let it pass by us without relating to one of the world’s biggest sports events, which fills our nights in staring, our houses with friends and our bellies with nuts.
Trying to think about a marketing post on the issue of the FIFA World Cup (Mondial), we thought – what it is that turns the big teams to such? What makes Germany so good? What is about Argentina that others don’t have? And what makes the considered teams of the past – such as Spain, for example, to lose their greatness (in the Mondial, at least…)?
Basically, any team that arrives to the Mondial – is a good team. All players are excellent, all shoes a perfect to kick in, they all know to run, head, score, spit… And yet, there is something that differs some teams from the others.
The answer, in the case of Argentina, is known to any child, especially if he is one of those who wear a Messy suit to kindergarden, even when there is no football class. Yes, the answer is Messi.
Germany’s power and advantage, her “Messi”, is not a single player, but the team work and the synergy between all players (or as they say: “You play football for 90 minutes, and at the end, Germany wins”).
for other teams – the “Messi” lies in the coach, their fans or some known trick – like Spain’s Tiki taka.
So in order to lead in business, we have to find and implement that “Messi”, which isn’t necessarily a person, but a distinguishing and strengthening element.
That “Messi” is the USP of our organization, and even if our Messi is not always that clear and vivid, we have to identify it. In a competitive crowded market, when offers sometimes exceed demands, if we do not differentiate ourselves from the competitors, we will retire before the quarter-finals, unfortunately .
It seems that everybody today offers the same products: costume made product, adapted to the client’s need, end-to-end services, one stop shop, service and support, counseling and advise, and in fact – what differs us? What is our “Messi”?
It is not simple to find our differentiating point, but necessary. Even if it is something small, minor, even if it’s not the most significant attribute of the product – it is important that it will be unique to us.
And here comes (fanfare!) marketing, that can intensify, glorify and crown to king even a small mouse.
Open and creative marketing needs to seek the product’s advantages (the Messi) not in the product itself, but sometimes, out of it: the user, the market, the timing, the competitors, etc.
It can find it in the product’s visibility, attribute it to an existing characteristic, the emotional benefit that may be derived from it, the manner of sale, supply time….
It can be the first to declare an attribute of the product which is not necessarily unique, but no other company talked about it, and which may intensify a relatively negligible element, and this, give it uniqueness.
Yet there is no doubt that the most correct and effective way to find the “Messi” is to examine what is important to the client, what is he missing, what is he looking for – and to answer that need.
And as important, we should remember that every “Messi”, every USP, has an expiry date.
Spain’s tiki taka was already used, and they were dismissed at the early stages of the world cup. Neymar was wounded and Brazil was defeated. it is the responsibility of the marketing department in the organization to feel the wind all the time, and identify, on time, if the organizational Messi is no longer relevant.
And since we all know how it ended, do you think Argentina’s Messi is still their USP?!