Regular Season vs Playoffs

A Marketing Lesson from the Basketball Court

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✏️ ON MY MIND

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Regular Season vs Playoffs: A Marketing Lesson from the Basketball Court

I recently caught JJ Redick, an ex-pro basketball player, on his podcast diving deep into how playoffs differ from regular season games in basketball. What really struck a chord with me was his take on the dramatic shift in intensity and focus when the stakes go up in the playoffs.

JJ explained,

"In the regular season, you might have 50% of the players fully engaged. Come playoff time, it's like 95% are all in. Every move, every second counts. If you're not up for it, you're out."

This reminded me of my high school days playing amateur basketball for a local league and our run to the championship. That feeling of shifting gears, upping the ante when it's crunch time – it's a whole different ball game.

Regular vs. “Playoff” Marketing

Listening to JJ talk about this gave me a realisation… our marketing efforts, like a basketball game, need to vary in intensity and focus.

That's the thing about small business marketing – you've got to know your season.

Are you in your regular season, keeping a steady pace, doing the daily grind? Or is it your playoffs, where every decision and every campaign is crucial?

When you try to apply playoff intensity to your marketing all year round, just like in basketball, it's not sustainable. People and processes break, you lose focus (and money), and eventually, you’ll drop the ball (pun intended).

So, what can you do differently?

Two ideas I'd encourage you to explore further here are: