The SB50 results are in. The Denver Broncos led a strong win against the Panthers, even during a poor offensive showing from the team’s famed quarterback. The lynchpin for victory was defense.

As the Broncos achieved victory with a strong defense, we’re looking back to this VentureBeat article from Sailthru CEO, Neil Lustig, on how defense is truly the best offense — in football and in business. This lesson especially rings true in marketing and the constant push and pull of customer acquisition vs. customer retention.

Here’s an excerpt from the article published just before SB50, which is even more relevant after the game’s results:

Imagine a Super Bowl coach so fanatical, he invests almost everything in offense. Extra quarterbacks, spare wide receivers, you name it. The team is mighty….u ntil they turn over the football.

With so much invested in offense, there’s only enough money for one person on defense. He takes the field and… instantly gets crushed like an ant under a freight train.

Nobody in their right mind would play the Super Bowl this way and expect to win. But that’s exactly the way most companies budget for Customer Acquisition vs Customer Retention.

VIEW FULL ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT HERE

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Image source via The Denver Post