Football is America’s main sport; but in the rest of the world, soccer is “king”. There is one club that stands above the rest: FC Barcelona or Barca.
This sport powerhouse is one of the most recognized and valuable sport clubs on the planet, and according to Forbes is worth $3.2 Billion today. It is the second most valuable sport franchise in the world, and one with the largest fan base.
Located in Barcelona (naturally), Spain, Barca has won an impressive 78 trophies over the years, including 60 domestic titles and 3 top Europeans Cup Championships in the last 9 years – the equivalent to an international Super Bowl.
But why is Barca so successful on and off the field?
There are 3 basic lessons that startups can learn from them:
1. A motto or slogan that one identifies with
If you talk to a ”Cule”, or Barca fan, the first thing they will say to you is that they are"Més que un Club" (More than a Club). Barca is not just a soccer team or people playing a sports game on a Sunday night.
Today, it also represents a symbol of the regional Catalan culture. All Barca fans have a proud sense of unity and belonging to the club.
They have core values that are shared by all fans. The fans truly identify themselves with the club and support it with real passion.
Everywhere fans proudly wear all types of club merchandise displaying their scarlet red and blue colors. Their colors are distinctive and easily recognizable. One can find them from bumper stickers on a car in Las Ramblas in Barcelona to someone wearing a T-shirt on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
The motto “More than a Club” is a fantastic slogan that one can easily remember and identify with. It creates a sense of unity and loyalty towards the club.
Hence, in your organization, you need to stay away from long, fancy and meaningless mission statements that no one can remember. A plain and simple slogan will provide more positive results and unity for your workforce.
2. Hire Type A employees (the best)
Barca has some the most outstanding soccer players in the world, and two of the leading players are foreigners. One is Argentinian Leo Messi who earns $65 million per year and has been named the best soccer player in the world 4 times. The second one is Neymar who earns over $30 million per year and is considered one of the best Brazilian players in the world. Barca always has the best soccer players or the equivalent of Type A players on its squad.
In your organization, do not be afraid to surround yourself with Type A employees (or the best employees or candidates available). Yes one has to pay more for the best people, but your organization and team members will benefit with a positive return on money well spent.
Don’t just hire Type B employees, because they will eventually hire Type C employees, and ultimately your organization will be surrounded by Type B and C people. This will result in a lack of “stars” to drive your company forward.
3. Embrace social media
NFL teams have over 60 million fans on Facebook and Twitter. Spanish soccer powerhouse Barcelona has 150 million online fans all by itself. Its YouTube videos are watched 52 million times each month.
Barca currently has the most liked Facebook page in global sports, and ranks in thetop 10 of all Facebook pages.
But it isn’t just their Facebook page that has won them recognition; Barca was the pioneer to optimize stadium match-day with social media, so fans engage and utilize social media while the game in on – yes, this means using your cell phone to interact and communicate.
While many clubs and companies use social media as a marketing channel to just raise awareness, to Barca it is so much more – it’s a connection to build relationships on an international scale with its fans.
Though today most of the startups provide IT or web related products or services, and management are savvy about the use of social media, they don't embed it in their overall marketing strategy.
Hence, startups need to truly embrace social media – not just to advertise or post publicity messages. Companies that make social media part of their marketing strategy to engage and communicate (both ways) with their customer base will be the ones to build lasting relationships and succeed in the long run. Be one of them!
