Marketing Is Like A Baseball Game

I love the game of baseball. I love the sights of the field, the smells of hotdogs and popcorn, and hearing the crack of the bat.

I also love the game of marketing. And it is a game…

Quite simply, baseball games are won because batters get up to bat, they get on base, they move around the bases, and they cross home plate – all without being called out in the process. (And, of course, while preventing the other team from doing the same thing.)

Most batters get on base by hitting a single, maybe a double, or maybe they even get walked – it’s a freebie! What really matters is that they consistently get on base and cross home plate.

Every now and then, with great fanfare or in a quiet, unexpected moment, someone hits a home run. If it’s an exceptional day, the bases will be loaded, turning that simple home run into a grand slam. Pretty exciting stuff! However, if every batter stepped up to bat with the intention or expectation of hitting a home run every time, more times than not they’d be disappointed.

Marketing is very similar to baseball. If you plan only one big marketing activity every once in a while and hope for a grand slam result, you will likely be disappointed. Great results can certainly happen – I just wouldn’t bet your business success on that approach.

Instead, be on the constant lookout for ways you can get base hits or doubles. Rather than putting all your marketing eggs in one basket, choose a variety of consistent marketing activities all designed to reach your ideal client, and work on increasing your batting average, hit by hit, in each of the activities.

For example, how often are you staying in contact with current or past clients? Do you send thank you cards when you get a referral? How many other professionals know what you do and can (and do) easily talk about you to their clients?

Take the pressure off yourself (and on any one strategy) to have home run results every time. Be consistent, get on first, move the batters around the bases – and cross home plate.

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