I despise the New England Patriots.

Brady fumbled the ball in 2000, which ultimately gave rise to the Brady – Belichick era.

While I despise them, I do respect them. The Patriots are so good, because they are great at the fundamentals. Belichick got his coaching start by watching film, when no one else would. Then, becoming great at it.

It shows in the Patriots dynasty today.

NFL teams can get easily distracted with trying to create elaborate schemes. To then out-scheme themselves in high stakes games and lose.

Us Marketers regularly take the path of the Schemers rather than the Patriots.

Fundamentals aren’t glamorous.

Telling your colleagues – or your peers – you’re investing in email will get eye rolls.

They’ll say “Email is dead”.

“You really need SMS”.

Marketing fundamentals are things like:

• Understanding your customer
• Telling the right story
• Having a product that solves a problem
• Differentiation
• Providing value

Get some of this right, then choose a few channels to get it right on.

The question isn’t email vs. SMS. It’s, do you understand your audience enough to solve their problems and tell a story they believe?

But we don’t ask this.

Just like no one asks Brady and Belichick how much film they watch.