What can SMEs learn from boxing?

We could be about to see a sporting event for the ages: Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua - and we are incredibly excited about the prospect of seeing these two British heavyweight champions finally fight. 

So with this in headlines, it got us thinking. Can small businesses learn anything from the world of boxing?

Curious? Read on.

Personality means everything 

In boxing, dull doesn’t sell. Great champions like Mohammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather and now Tyson Fury are all great talkers with incredible charisma. They captivated audiences and sold-out arenas all over the world. 

There’s much a business owner can take from this. Being memorable and communicating with your audience (and sometimes surprising them) can help you really help create a connection. 

Maybe you fancy creating fun signage outside your store which makes people laugh? Why not offer free samples of smoothies on a hot day?

We aren’t saying you should wear one of Tyson Fury’s over the top suits, but giving your business a bit of personality is certainly not a bad idea.

Study your competition 

Once a fight is made, fighters will spend months training beforehand. They will go through their own technique, but more importantly, they will study their opponents in immense detail and think of ways to latch upon any weaknesses. 

It is likely that whilst you won’t be having an actual physical fight with competing businesses (a very bad idea) you do need to understand them and how they operate. We would recommend creating an Excel spreadsheet of your competitors. 

Take a look at what they are doing. For instance, do they have any offers on at the moment? What is their pricing structure like? Are they active on social media and if so are they running any competitions or polls to get people engaged? It could help you keep ahead of the curve.

Careful and methodical sometimes wins 

When people think of images associated with boxing, the knockout often comes to mind. And sure, there are plenty of knockouts. But often, this is not what is needed to win a fight. Often, the best fighters are calm and pragmatic in their approach. Sometimes they will try and go for a full 12 rounds and simply outbox their opponent. No one was better at this than Floyd Mayweather, who never lost and was very rarely hit by his opponents. Even renowned knockout king Anthony Joshua has become much more measured and careful in his recent fights. 

Often in business, the ones who execute the most thought out plans, over a period of time, are the ones who succeed. Everything you do day to day will be shaped by what you want to achieve for your business. The more focussed you are on goals, the more purposeful you will be in how you spend your time. 

Think about it. If your goal is to bring in x number of customers in a certain time frame, everything you do will go towards achieving this. Or maybe you want to gain a certain amount of followers on one of your social media accounts. Anything you do on this platform (whichever you decide) will be geared towards this particular goal.

But it can only take one big hit to win 

Having a plan is essential, but sometimes it might be one big hit that changes everything. A  fighter might find themselves losing on points, but all of a sudden they get a surge of energy from nowhere and knock out their opponent to the canvas for a ten count. Suddenly all the careful planning their opponent had counted for nothing.

The same is true in business. It might just take one great idea that might really connect with your audience and attract a lot of interest. Certain products on display might prove to be really popular with customers. Or an Instagram post of your food is creating real buzz and demand for your delicious delicacies. 

Planning is essential, but sometimes you might get success from an unexpected hit that comes out of the blue, a bit like a powerful right hand from Mike Tyson - OUCH !!!

You can be flexible

It’s common for boxers to move weight categories. Often the best boxers are the ones who win across different weight divisions. For instance, fighters like Saul Canelo Alvarez and Vasily Lomachenko are often labelled as the best pound for pound fighters around, because they have won many championships across different weight classes. 

Flexibility is the key takeaway here. If you want to change your offering to make it more appealing then you can do that. For example, If you run a  coffee shop, that only serves coffee, why not consider creating a brunch menu as a way to encourage people to stay longer. 

Maybe you run a local book shop. Why not allow your space to become a bit of a community hub by hosting events. 

Likewise, it’s good to be ready to adapt whatever comes your way. We’ve a range of products to help you take payments lots of different ways.

David Goulden

Copywriter