FOCUS can be your most effective marketing tool

Former head coach Sam Rutigliano was asked why his Kardiac Kids were one of the most successful Browns teams ever — even though they didn’t have the most skilled players. I heard him tell this story at the Valley Impact Awards.

BLUE CHASES A RABBIT
Sam said, “My dog Blue spotted a rabbit and took off after it. He was right on its tail. As other neighborhood dogs saw the chase in progress, they got excited and joined in — but they had to follow Blue.

OTHERS JOIN IN, THEN DROP OUT
“Soon there were 10 or 15 dogs chasing that rabbit,” Sam continued. “But one by one, they all slowed down and dropped out of the chase. Soon it was just Ol’ Blue again chasing the rabbit, and it wasn’t long before he caught it.

WHY JUST BLUE?
“Blue was the oldest and maybe the weakest of the bunch…so why did the other dogs drop out instead of him?” Sam wondered. “BECAUSE THE OTHER DOGS COULD NOT SEE THE RABBIT. They forgot WHAT they were chasing and WHY. They lost interest because they lost focus. Blue caught the rabbit because he was the only dog that could SEE the rabbit throughout the chase. He had FOCUS. And focus combined with passion is a winning combination.”

SCHEDULE FOCUS SESSIONS
Once a week at Farris Marketing, we have a meeting called “Brand Camp.” We don’t discuss clients or cases. We discuss Farris — WHAT we’re doing, and WHY we’re doing it. It’s where we make sure we can all see the rabbit. It’s where we focus, and combine that focus with passion and energy.

MAKE SURE YOU CAN SEE THE RABBIT
We teach our clients to stop once a week or so, like we do, and look at their core purpose. Then we ask them to remind themselves WHY they do it. Then, and only then, can we help them work on HOW it’s done.

BETTER VIEW = BETTER ROI
Not surprisingly, clients that are focused find it much easier to perform marketing-related tasks and get a much better Return On Investment.

MAKE SURE YOUR CUSTOMER SEES IT TOO
To improve sales, your marketing should make the rabbit (the prize, the reward, the purpose for doing business with you) very visible. The benefits of catching the rabbit (buying your product) need to be clear, and they need to be seen often to keep customers motivated.

DON’T BLOCK THE VIEW
When you try to stick two, three or four benefits into one advertisement, you’re blocking the view of the rabbit. Keep it simple. Keep the energy level up. Demonstrate your passion. And your focus will be rewarded with better response to all marketing efforts.

KEEP THE RABBIT IN SIGHT FOR ALL
Make sure your purpose, your passion and what you do best is clear to your board, staff, customers and the community. If it’s a credible goal, it will be welcomed and accepted by all.

WHICH DOG CATCHES THE RABBIT?
The first dog — the one that can see it. Make sure you always keep the rabbit in sight, and that first dog will always be you.
Stay tuned and stay smart.##