Basketball fan or not, you’ll soon see signs of March Madness everywhere. But as a business owner, you may be dreading it—the constant chatter, the office pool, the games of waste-basket hoops! Do we really have to lose so much of the whole month of March?!
Hold on, says contributor Steve Strauss at AOL Small Business. Strauss suggests that business owners should embrace March Madness! Sure, employees love to waste time during the NCAA tournament, but, he says, that can actually be a good thing.
March Madness has become one of the most popular sporting events in the U.S. Given the trends of recent years, nearly 50 million people could watch the championship game. Betting on March Madness will be $2 to $3 billion! And Strauss cites research finding that employees will waste 8.4 million hours during March Madness!
Ready to squash March Madness activity in your office? Don’t, Strauss says. Instead, encourage it! Here are four reasons why:
- It’s a unifier. March Madness crosses all the lines—fan/non-fan, male/female, young/old. How many other opportunities are there for your employees to rally around an event? It’s a team builder.
- It’s realistic. Fighting it is swimming upstream and still won’t stop the festivities. It will just drive them underground, which means wasting even more time. Go with the flow and use it to your advantage. You’ll have happier, more loyal employees.
- It’s a great diversion. Work isn’t just about work; there’s the whole social side, the camaraderie. Most employees know how to be productive while throwing in some socializing and goofing off. Strauss makes a good case: Watching snippets of a game is no different than browsing perezhilton.com on a break.
- It can help build your business. Studies say that happy employees make happy customers and that a fun environment can differentiate your business and raise performance. If you’re of this opinion, too, Strauss recommends tapping into March Madness.
While everyone seems to embrace March Madness, there are perspectives on why. Intuit blog contributor Kevin Casey says there are actual lessons for small businesses in March Madness, and he writes about five of them:
- The underdog can win. Cinderella, David and Goliath—as Americans, we love them all and maybe especially in sports and business.
- Leverage a big event to draw in new fans. You don’t need a nationally televised championship! A small business can make plenty of hay from a product launch, a charity drive or special event. Don’t sell these opportunities short.
- Embrace new technologies. The NCAA hasn’t stayed in the past. Are you maximizing things like mobile and social media?
- Harmless controversy can mean buzz. Tread with caution here. But what about a blog post that takes an opposing view to an accepted idea? Or using a negative review (and its resolution, of course) to demonstrate your responsiveness?
Cash in on momentum (aka Strike while the iron is hot!). When business is booming, trust your instincts and your team and ride the wave. Don’t over think things or change direction because you have to stick to a plan. When things slow down, take the business equivalent of a timeout, regroup and refresh. And then get back out there, ready to take on the competition!
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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