October 2014
Issue: #60

The Team Advantage

You may have heard by now that the U.S. lost another Ryder Cup golf tournament this past weekend.

It was the third defeat in a row for the Americans. In fact, the eighth in the last 10 outings.

Now much has already been written and said about whom and what were to blame for this latest trouncing at the hands of Europe’s finest.

Personally I fault the Scots for inventing that Siren of a Game in the first place. What other sport can take you from pure joy to utter anguish and back again in a matter of moments?

Anyway, there is one question that has prompted me to stop and think each time this biennial contest comes around.

Is golf really a team sport? (Okay, that and, “Where’s the TV clicker?”)

I mean each of the 28 matches that comprise the Cup’s format are played by at most two golfers per side, including the singles competitions played on the final day.

So does it matter if you take 12 world-class, pro golfers who make their living playing an individual sport and try to organize and motivate them as if they were a football, basketball or soccer team?

I believe the answer is yes.

And I also believe that within the answer lies an important lesson for marketing communicators.

Here’s why.

When you consider the gigantic number of communication channels out there (both digital and print), it’s easy to become mesmerized by their individual capabilities and power.

There are even experts for email, websites, newsletters, social media, marketing automation, video, white papers, blogs, case studies, SEO, PPC and direct mail who tout their siloed “strategies” as capable of making all your marketing dreams come true.

But thinking of marketing communications as a loose collection of individual players can cause you to come up short of your primary goal. The same as it does with Ryder Cup players.

So here are some reasons why a team approach to communications channel management just might lead to better outcomes…

• Helps to visualize a higher purpose. Golfers who focus on winning the Cup rather than just their own individual matches are more motivated and emotionally invested in overall success. Particularly when it comes down to the wire against topflight competitors.

  Similarly, establishing an appropriate business goal – say, generating 20 percent more qualified leads – will motivate you and your team to select and execute each communication channel based on its contributions to the whole rather than momentary star quality.

• Reinforces the right choices. One of the biggest decisions a Ryder Cup team captain has to make is to pair two players who will bolster each other’s level of play, and then put them up against an opponent they can beat. No small feat.
  
  You too will need to “pair” the right content and channels to support your campaigns (i.e., eBook, email, SEO copy, landing pages, articles, blog posts, brochures, etc). And then make sure that the combination you choose wins the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of your intended audience.

• Prepares you for the disappointment of being benched. Not all Ryder Cup participants play every round of matches. Inevitably, some are told they have to sit it out and become cheerleaders. Not an easy thing for players of an individual sport to accept unless they are prepared for the possibility right from the start.
  
  You’ll likely have to decide at some point to reduce or eliminate investment in a particular channel. The team approach ensures that you don’t get too attached to it based on inappropriate metrics, and then shout, “We can’t quit now. We have eight thousand ‘likes’!”

If you’re feeling befuddled by the number of available marketing communication channels out there, then step back and consider a team approach.

You don’t have to use all of them; just the select the few that matter and get them working together to help you win.

Knowing the business goal you need to achieve and continually communicating that message to your marketing folks and managers will help prepare them for the choices you make.

It’s an approach that just might fit you to a tee.