My Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rival, the Baltimore Ravens, yesterday. This is despite the Ravens having a two-time MVP at quarterback (who, before yesterday, was en route to winning his third MVP and his second straight one… time will tell if’n he still wins the coveted award or not), a first-ballot Hall of Fame running back (which is so rare it’s almost extinct in today’s NFL), and being the sports media’s darling team.
The win yesterday also puts the Steelers atop the AFC North division. Again, despite most talking heads predicting that the Ravens would easily win the division because, on the surface, they have a more talented team. And despite my Steelers failing to score a single touchdown against the NFL’s #1 offense.
But of course, the game of football and business share a lot of similarities. And even if I admit that, yes, the Ravens do have a more talented offense, talent doesn’t beat a relentless focus on the fundamentals.
And that, my friends, is why the Steelers have won 8 of their last 9 games against their division foe—even though the Ravens have had the more talented team for damn near each of these games.
But what does a relentless focus on the fundamentals mean? And how can you apply this lesson from the NFL’s best rivalry to your business to beat your competitors to a pulp no different than the Steelers do to the Ravens?
Simple:
One of the most glaring differences from yesterday’s game was Baltimore’s penalties. They committed 12 penalties which resulted in 80 lost yards (and even more if you factor in the yards gained on plays that were called back).
Committing fewer penalties is one of the best “hidden” ways to secure victory. It’s kinda like a “hidden” way to win business: Sell your customers something else instead of finding new customers all the time.
Both are fundamental. Both tilt the odds of victory in your favor. And both sometimes get completely ignored simply because it’s not sexy.
This also reminds me of another “hidden” list segmenting secret: Your RFM segments.
The R stands for recency, the F stands for frequency, and the M stands for monetary. Your best segment should include parameters for customers who bought most recently (because they’re more likely to buy again), customers who buy at the highest frequency (because, again, they’re more likely to buy again), and customers who spend the most money in your store (because, once again, they’re more likely to not only buy again, but buy your most expensive products).
Failing to offer your customers something else to buy and failing to create and include RFM segments in your emails are two quick ways to self-flagellate your business. Just like committing penalties lowers your chances of winning.
Another major difference between the two teams yesterday was the turnover difference. There’s nothing more fundamental in the game of football than protecting the ball. In fact, winning the turnover battle means you have a 70% chance of victory. And my Steelers won the turnover battle +2.
In email marketing, winning the turnover battle is kinda like focusing on the right metrics instead of the wrong metrics. Nothing increases your odds of victory by 70% or more—and vice versa—like focusing on the correct metrics.
What are the correct metrics?
Well, there’s really only one: Revenue created.
Other metrics like open rates, click rates, unsubscribe rates, etc. are nothing more than vanity metrics. The problem with vanity metrics is that they trick you into making foolish mistakes, usually at the expense of revenue. There are a ton of ways to artificially increase opens, clicks, lower unsubscribes, etc. But if these tricks don’t lead to more revenue, then, well, they’re only tricking you.
Not to mention… Being too attached to vanity metrics is a great way to stop emailing completely. It’s a version of playing not to lose instead of playing to win. For example, the single best way to prevent someone from unsubscribing is to never send them an email. But you ain’t gonna make any revenue from your email list if you follow this route.
And last but not least:
The final fatal flaw the Ravens committed yesterday is they failed to feed their future first ballot Hall of Fame running back enough times. He only ran the ball 13 times. He averages 25 carries in a win.
But rushing the ball ain’t as sexy as deep passes that eat up a lot of yards in one go. And their refusal to feed mayhap their best player is another reason why my Steelers won (despite being “outmatched”).
When it comes to email… running the ball is like an email strategy based on consistency, entertainment, and information. It ain’t sexy, but it pays the bills.
Whereas the long-ball game (where you quickly move down the field much faster, and sometimes in as little as a single play) is like running promos. There’s a time and a place to run a promo. But the more promos you run, the less efficient each one gets.
And so it is with focusing on sexy big plays in football instead of the fundamentals.
Fundamentals, as un-sexy as they seem, lead to more consistent victory, especially over time, than any other tip or trick or tactic.
Anywho:
Need help smashing your competitors to a pulp with email like my Steelers do time and time again against the Ravens?
Hit reply and let’s chat.
John
Comments