Blog entry #16 from www.mba-marketing.co.uk
The England cricket team have recently returned from the privately-oragnised and funded Sandford 20/20 cricket competition in Antigua. Despite having been on a 'win bonus' of $1,000,000 per player for winning a single three-hour cricket match, and despite facing a team with only four or five top internationals, they lost. Not only did they lose, they lost convincingly, scoring just 99 runs - the lowest total yet achieved in international 20/20 cricket, which the opposition knocked off win style, with ten wickets and many overs to spare. Furthermore, at no time did the 'England' team really give the impression of being that interested, let alone motivated. By contrast, the game clearly mattered enormously to the winning team (made up of West Indians), who not only gave their all, but performed to a high standard in all aspects of the game.
This competition provided a unique and valuable experiment in motivation. I'm still thinking about the lessons learned, but the immediate and obvious conclusion is that economic man - whose performance is directly related to monetary remuneration - has his limits. Once our basic needs are taken care of, our motivation depends upon non-monetary factors - self-actualisation, for example. Watch those same England players take on Australia for the Ashes next year - they will need no motivation of any sort, let alone financial incentives.
West Indian cricketers are notoriously badly-paid - $1,000,000 would really make a difference. By contrast, most England cricketers - and particularly Kevin Petersen and Andrew Flintoff - are already financially secure. Playing just for the money against a bogus team called the Sandford Superstars was never going to motivate them. And the whole event made for very poor viewing on television as well.
Whether you are employing people, selling goods or providing a service, the most successful value propositions are rarely about price alone. The value that matters is often intangible and rooted in emotion. Most people want to be associated with businesses, organisations and brands which stand for something and which deliver emotional rewards. People are usually prepared to pay a premium for that reward. And it's where marketing comes in....