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There is an idea in marketing that we talk about from a lot of different angles. We might say that you need to go deep instead of broad or do a few things well instead of a lot of things poorly. I’ve heard these 100 times, but I want to share a similar concept that clicked in a way those didn’t.

This comes from the late Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway fame. He is reported to have said:

Take a simple idea and take it seriously.

In a lot of ways, Charlie (and Warren Buffet, his partner) did this better than anyone. Their interviews and speeches were mind-blowing not because their strategy was complex, but because it was so simple. The difference is they believed so much in their simple philosophy that’s literally all they did. All their creativity, time, and effort was focused into that idea.

That simple idea, taken seriously, yielded pretty mind-blowing results.

Marketing Ideas

Marketing is full of simple ideas. These could be simple one liners or trends or ideas like:

• Send the right message to right person at the right time
• Shoppers with intent will always convert higher than those without
• 90% of consumer watch video on mobile devices
• You have to start skiers young to get them to stick around
• People are starting to see the harm of social media

Something I’m guilty of is trying to string too many of these ideas together into a new insight or a new strategy. But the thing that has clicked for me as I’ve thought about my own experience is that each one of these simple ideas has deep, rich veins of value that can be mined by those willing to apply them at something beyond a superficial level.

In other words, for those who are willing to take those simple ideas seriously.

Let me share a few resort marketing relevant examples of what I mean.

1) The Epic Pass

Love it or hate it, the perfect example of this is the Epic Pass. Selling multi-resort passes and trying to hedge against weather variability was nothing knew, but Vail Resorts took this simple idea more seriously than anyone had before and created a new type of resort guest along the way; the destination-market passholder.

2) Snowbird’s 1-Star

The idea of poking fun at negative reviews that actually highlight your strengths wasn’t totally new, but nobody had taken that simple idea as seriously as Dave and his team did at Snowbird. It could have been a series of Instagram posts, but it wasn’t and it helped Snowbird find a brand direction they are still building on.

3) A-Basin & Loveland Snowmaking

Resorts have always tried to open early and resorts have always hoped they were the first. Loveland and A-Basin were the resorts that took that idea seriously with investment and effort. Now it’s a rare exception when they don’t win the race to open and harvest the benefits of that superlative.

4) Brighton Snowboarding

When snowboarding became a thing and other resorts spurned the idea of sharing their mountain with this new sport, Brighton was one of the few resorts that not just allowed it, but embraced it. They took snowboarding seriously and have been riding that wave ever since. Even now, Brighton is still known for their snowboarding.

5) Killington Extending the Season

Killington took that simple idea of having a long season and went massive, creating a way to open a lift at the summit in fall when temperatures are marginal and building a stockpile of snow each spring that’s thick enough to last for weeks (or months) after other resorts have closed.

It Starts with a Strength / Opportunity

The interesting pattern within this idea – and especially within the the oversimplified versions of these resorts’ successes above – is that they were all built on a unique strength or opportunity.

• Vail had learned from previous attempts and already had geographic variety in their portfolio
• Snowbird has incredible terrain for skiers that were, as Tess’s team put it, A Different Breed
• A-Basin and Loveland are above 10,800′ where snowmaking conditions are consistent in early fall
• Brighton had tons of amazing snow and terrain that was well-suited to snowboarding
• Killington had the advantage of snowmaking firepower, elevation, and a download-able summit lift

This is probably one of my last summer “here’s something to think about” posts, but I think it’s a good one. Take some time to consider what your strengths are. Brainstorm what sorts of simple ideas present unique opportunities for your resort. That could be a long list of things:

• Proximity to a key market
• The friendliness of your slopes
• Access to incredible photographers
• Someone with a unique talent on your team
• A website with a ton of traffic

Whatever it is, take some time to brainstorm what it would look like if you took those simple ideas really, really seriously. If they weren’t just something you did, but became part of the backbone of your brand and strategy.

This idea has been a really interesting one for me to noodle on the last few weeks and I love the ideas and clarity that have come out of it.

Hopefully it can do the same for your team.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.