What business are you TRULY in? (Hint: It’s not supplements…)

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HARRY: So the operator selects the site?

RAY: Yeah.

HARRY: He picks the property?

RAY: Right.

HARRY: You provide the training. The system. The operational know-how. And he is responsible… for the rest?

RAY: Is there a problem?

HARRY: A big one. You don’t seem to realize what business you’re in. You’re not in the burger business… you’re in the real estate business. You don’t build an empire… of a 1.4% cut of a 15-cent hamburger, you build it by owning the land upon which that burger is cooked. What you ought to be doing… is buying up plots of land, then turning around and leasing said plots to franchisees – who, as a condition of their deal, should be permitted to lease from you and you alone. Land… THAT’S where the money is.

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The above is an excerpt from a scene of one of my favorite business/marketing study materials – „The Founder“ movie.

(Starring Mr. Batman himself – Michael Keaton.)

I often find myself going back to the scene above over and over and over again…

…in order to never accidentally forget – and therefore, commit – an error the vast majority of small and medium-sized businesses keep committing day after day:

Not knowing what business they’re TRULY in.

• McDonald’s is not in the fast-food business… they’re in the real estate business.

(38% of their revenues came just from, well… doing the exact thing the movie explained.)

• George Lucas isn’t in the movie business… he’s in the licensing business.
• Proactiv isn’t in the solving acne business… they’re in the boosting self-esteem business.
• Subway isn’t in the sandwich business… for a long time they were in the weight-loss business.
• Disney is not in the amusement park business… they’re in the happiness business.
• Konami isn’t in the gaming business… they’re in the casino business.

(This isn’t widely known but Konami is one of the top 3 providers of casino management system software in the world – they couldn’t care less about gaming.)

• Speaking of casinos, they’re not in the gambling business… but in the addiction business.

(They spend pretty pennies on hiring some of the world’s best behavioural psychologists to make their games even more addictive than they already are.)

• Red Bull isn’t in the energy drinks business… they’re in the adrenaline business.
• Costco isn’t in the retail business… they’re in the membership business.
• Tesla isn’t in the car business… they’re in the technology business.
• Nike isn’t the sports business… they’re in the marketing business.

On that last one, Phil Knight (Nike founder) is on video literally saying it:

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Well, what I’ve always said is that we’re a marketing company and the product is our most important marketing tool.

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This is perhaps one of the most (if not THE most) important business insights…

(Which ironically, they never teach in business school…)

…yet most don’t even think about it.

Most just focus on the „product“ or the „service“ they sell – which automatically limits how high you can go.

Which brings me to my point about sports nutrition/supplement brands:

Nearly a decade of being in this space has given me more than a good enough grasp…

….on how they’re under this misconception of what business they’re really in.

How do I know?

Because you can infer it from their marketing.

All I ever see – in ads/blogs/emails etc. – is just the focus around the products:

• „Buy 1 pre-workout get 1 free!“
• „New creatine in gummy form!“
• „BCAAs for 20% OFF!“
• „Free shaker when you buy this protein!“
• „Hey Protein! Did you get this protein for the protein?“
• „Protein, did you Protein the Protein on our new Protein?“

In other words:

The marketing is TOO product-focused.

Now frankly…

I understand this:

It’s easy, it feels natural, it feels the logical thing to do – you sell supplements…

…so you only talk about supplements.

But that’s a mistake.

Because when you make the product the core focus of your marketing…

You commoditize yourself.

i.e. you allow yourself to be compared to the 3000-5000 of your competitors out there – you’re not special anymore.

So what’s the smarter play?

What’s the sharper knife in the drawer?

Being customer-focused.

Let me give you an example:

Domino’s.

Specifically, their „30 minutes or less“ promise/guarantee.

Now admittedly, it’s been a while since they had this policy but…

It’s the reason why they were able to grow so quickly and scoop up so much market share at the beginning:

Domino’s didn’t make the world’s best pizza…

(And honestly? I feel like they didn’t even try in the first place…)

No.

They picked their target audience – which was college kids, stuck in their dorm rooms, high as kites, looking to quench their munchies.

So Domino’s tailored their marketing NOT around the pizza – how delicious it is, how crusty, how organic the ingredients are…

No, they focused on the pizza being (1) Fast, (2) Cheap, (3) Predictable.

(i.e. delivered in 30 minutes or less.)

Domino’s delivered EXACTLY what their target customers cared most about.

(So they were really in the quenching munchies business… not the pizza business.)

Which brings me to my point:

What does YOUR target audience actually care about?

Think about your typical customer:

Why does he even buy your protein powders, protein bars, creatines and pre-workouts etc. in the first place?

Does he do it because he just likes consuming those things?

I mean…

There probably are some people out there…

…who buy those things just for the sake of consuming/eating them.

But most people are not like that.

Why do they ACTUALLY buy all that stuff?

Because it gives them an edge – it helps them reach their main goal.

• If they’re into bodybuilding? It’s to get lean, mean and jacked (So you’re in the helping people get lean, mean, and jacked business…)
• If they’re into powerlifting? It’s to get big and strong (So you’re in the helping people get big and strong business…)
• If they’re into crossift? Well… whatever the hell the benefits of crossfit are, I guess… (So you’re in the whatever the hell the benefits of crossfit are business…)

(i.e. Supplements are just a VEHICLE for them to reach their goal(s)…)

So why only talk about the products?

Talk about their GOALS, their DREAMS, their PROBLEMS, their FRUSTRATIONS, their ANNOYANCES that they face towards reaching that goal…

…and somehow build a „bridge“ – find a way to connect those to whatever supplement you’re currently running a promo on.

(I have 11 examples of how I do that – for marketing emails at least – in the Appendix section of my Book.)

You’ll:

A) Stand out from pretty much everyone else…

B) More importantly, you can NEVER be boring to someone if you talk about them and their interests.

(And so your ads will pull harder… your emails will drive more traffic and sales… your offers will convert better… your retention and lifetime value will climb.)

Because people will do anything for those who encourage their dreams… justify their failures… allay their fears… confirm their suspicions… and help them throw rocks at their enemies.

That’s how politicians win elections.

And it’s also how you can win more of the hearts, minds and wallets of your prospects and customers.

It’s okay if you don’t grasp this immediately – it took me many many many hours and hours of reading, thinking, experiencing, and ruminating on this…

…to fully grasp it myself.

So just go back and re-read it a couple of more times.

It genuinely could be one of the single most financially valuable investments you’re ever going to make.

But anyway:

Speaking of myself…

What business am I in then?

On the surface, it may look like I’m in the marketing business…

More specifically:

The Email Marketing for Sports Nutrition brands business.

However…

I am actually in the self-aggrandizement business!

Will not explain.

This email has gone on for long enough – nearly 1300 words.

(I’m thinking of even taking parts of this email and featuring it in the 2nd edition of my book – whenever I come around to writing that…)