Designated For Assignment

Those are the three most dreaded words in the life of a Major League Baseball player.  It’s that moment when the organization believes that you are no longer worth the investment due to your lack of productivity.  That moment came last Sunday for Leonys Martin. In the span of 12 hours he went from starting in Center Field for the Seattle Mariners, to standing on the pavement hoping for another team to give him another opportunity.

That is not likely.  Martin’s salary for this year is Five Million Dollars.  Not many teams would be willing to shell out that kind of cash for a player hitting .111.  The bright spot for the Mariners in this early, yet dreadful start to the season is young Mitch Haniger. The rookie is batting .338 with a .600 slugging percentage; not to mention, Haniger’s OPS is off the chart.

Scott Servais, the Mariners’ manager and GM Jerry Dipoto both spoke publicly about the difficult decision to place Martin on waivers.  After all, Leonys is beloved in the clubhouse and his positive outlook has an infectious influence on his teammates. Plus, Martin factored heavily into their plan heading into the season as they made multiple transactions to generate more runs per game.  As hopeful as Dipoto and Servais were about their plan going into the season, they had to make the tough call and make a change.  They both said this is a results-generated decision.

Mariner players must have been listening, because after the decision to release Martin was announced, their bats came alive and they scored 11 runs in their final game against Oakland that afternoon.

When you look at your marketing budget, it’s important to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign; specifically the return on your investment.  Are you getting the results you projected with your TV, radio, or outdoor advertising?  The money allocated to these facets of your campaign is significant.  Think about this. Radio, TV, Outdoor, even Newspaper—all have listeners/viewers that you’re spending money to reach. But how many will actually end up doing business with you?  Now compare that with your on-hold advertising budget, where every dollar you spend touches nearly every person who calls your business—and, at a fraction of the cost. There isn’t a penny wasted with on hold advertising.

The leadership of the Mariners made the tough call to move away from their $5 Million Dollar Player and focus on a virtually unknown player who is giving them three times the production at one tenth the expense.  This decision was not based on a whim, it was based on results.

Emotionally, it is a difficult choice to make. Think of the investment you made! But when you look at this in terms of running a successful business, it is an easy decision.  Three times the impact at one tenth the price?  Sign me up.

Put US on hold. The professional team at WMG will help you take advantage of the most cost effective, results-driven marketing tool that directly impacts 100% of your customers.  That’s every caller, every day, every time.

As for the Mariners, their ‘success’ on the field continues.  Their second game after releasing Martin they scored 9 runs.  The only problem is they gave up 19.  Well, tomorrow is a new day.

For them and for you.

Tom McTee, Super-Genius