Baseball and marketing have a lot in common. The World Series just ended in dramatic fashion. (Game 3 was the longest extra-innings game in the 114 year history of the series, lasting 18 innings!) If you followed the best-of-seven series, you know that there is a lot of strategy that goes into a baseball game. Commentators follow every pitch and speculate what each hitter is trying to do. This is especially true when there are runners on base. That’s when the focus of a manager is to determine the best strategy to move runners into scoring position. What is scoring position? Any player on second or third base is considered in scoring position. Typically any base hit out of the infield should score the player if they are on second or third.

So what are the ways to get a player on first base into scoring position? The next batter could get a hit. That is the simplest solution. That usually means the batter has to hit the ball into the outfield as a base hit (without it being caught for an out). If not, there is a risk the player advancing to second base could be thrown out along with the batter – a double play. Another solution is the player on first base could steal second base. That is risky. Even the fleetest base runners get thrown out trying to steal a base. Another tactic is the sacrifice bunt. The batter can intentionally bunt the ball just out of the reach of the pitcher, catcher and either the first or third baseman. This gives the base runner the advantage of making it safely to second base, but almost always results in the batter being thrown out at first base. You are giving up an out for the base runner to be advanced into scoring position. It’s strategy and all up to the baseball manager to decide.

What is scoring position in your marketing efforts? Typically that happens when you get a potential customer to show interest in your product or services. That is when sales needs to step in and close the deal, right? How do you get a prospect into scoring position? It takes a stepped approach to marketing. It involves marketing for brand awareness as your first strategic approach. But it cannot stop there. You also have to strategically plan on getting them "on base” with you. In other words, you have to get them intrigued with your brand and transition them into wanting more information. Transitions happen when you are asking the customer to take action on the marketing information you have given them. For instance, you might entice them with a time deadline attached to a discount. It calls on them to take another step towards a sale… or scoring position to use the baseball analogy.

Are you enticing your potential customers to take another step with you in your marketing? Marketing is all about helping to transition prospects into customers. If you are the marketing manager for your company, it is your job to make sure this is happening. Too often in marketing today, the focus is just on brand awareness. Brand awareness is important, but it is just first base. I can make a prospect aware of everything I do in my business, but it doesn’t mean they will buy from me, does it? No, if I want to sell them and turn a prospect into a customer, I have to move them closer to making a purchase. The way to do that is to transition them from awareness to interest in my products by giving them a reason to make a purchase.

Examine your marketing. Are you building action steps into your marketing that keeps them moving from one phase of marketing to the next? If not, consider changing your strategy.

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This is part two of a two-part series. To see part one, click here.