What a girls' soccer team can teach about business

I was watching my daughter's 10-and-under soccer team play last Saturday, and to say they weren't playing well would be quite an understatement. Not to say that there are any future Mia Hamm's on the team, but they were playing this game like it was their first time together. You know, when the coach starts out by saying "This is a ball. We can't use our hands." etc. etc. etc.

After watching them suffer their first defeat since Thanksgiving, it suddenly struck me. It's not that we think that the girls will win every game (although they've pretty much done that since forming in September), but we've come to expect a level of play from them. And when that level of play -- that consistency -- isn't there, the results are disappointing.

The same thing applies to business. How often do we return to do business with the same companies over and over and over again? Is it because they're the closest? The cheapest? Or maybe, just maybe, you get consistent service and quality from them. It's a comfort level that you've reached with them, for whatever reason.

Businesses spend thousands -- actually, probably millions -- of dollars a year trying to find out why consumers go to one store over another. I mean, is there really THAT much of a difference between McDonald's and Wendy's and Burger King? Probably not. And how about supermarkets? You could probably blindfold most people and they couldn't tell if they were inside a local Shop Rite or Acme (pronounced as three syllables in Philadelphia) or any other brand.

Usually, it comes down to that certain "something." Maybe the restrooms are cleaner. Maybe the lighting is better in the parking lot. Maybe it's the color scheme in the company's logo. Maybe your parents always shopped there. Whatever "it" is, the store has "it", and that makes it tough for you to change. Just like it makes us soccer parents tough to comprehend when our team doesn't play consistantly.

This is a ball. We kick the ball into the net. That's our goal.

And in business, our goal is to help you meet your goals as well. And hopefully, you like the color scheme in our logo...