3 Similarities between Marketing and Poker

If you are a poker player, you know the risks and potential gains. There is a specific set of rules to follow just like in cricket betting or football betting, and your success depends on your luck, strategy, and drive. This is why you (or any poker player for that matter) can use your skills in marketing.

What Cards Have Been Dealt?

You may have a great start, with plenty of investors, followers, and ideas for a marketing scheme. On the other hand, it is also possible that you have to rely on your limited resources and your wits alone. It is essential to recognize what means are at your disposal, and what assets your competition has.

In other words, keep your eyes peeled on the market, and think of strategies that are available to you, as well as those that are available to your competition. Consider the best and the worst case scenario before proceeding further. Do you have professional actors, strong social media presence, and/or a creative team that can whip up an imaginative campaign?

Be Patient

Sometimes, the odds are stacked against you. This may not be your season, or it could be that someone has beaten you to the punch. That is perfectly fine. It is important to keep your cool, not show that the obstacle at hand has affected you, or your company, in any way, and to move on to the next project.

Remember that it’s not important who wins the pot right now. What’s more important is to keep your long-term goal in mind. One hand makes little difference in this respect. The same is with marketing – just because you might not have received the feedback you were hoping for right now, does not mean that your customers will not invest in it later because of another marketing campaign.

Fortune Favors the Brave (or Does It?)

This similarity between poker and marketing is pretty apparent. Sometimes, people bluff, making it appear as if there are in a more or less favorable position than they actually are. You can put on a brave face and end up on top with guts alone. It wouldn’t be the first or the last, time someone has won with bad cards.

This gamble in marketing comes in the form of a tight schedule and promises that you make, along with your ability to keep them. There are always situations where you will have to convince your employers, employees, and customers that something will be ready in time and that it will perform excellently. You need to exercise caution in this regard, as someone could potentially call your bluff. However, as you know, it is a part of the game, regardless of whether it’s poker or marketing.