Introduction
When you search in the internet, although there is many other theory with the same name , Bingo! Theory (remarks : the “!” does matter) is a terminology which is invented by Diamond Digital Marketing to explain the priority of a project go vertically or horizontally.
What is Bingo in real life
Bingo is a popular game of chance where players mark off numbers on cards as they are randomly drawn by a caller. The goal is to be the first to complete a specific pattern, such as a horizontal line , vertical line or diagonal, and shout “Bingo!” to win.
What is Bingo! as a Metaphor in Working Philosophy
Let’s start the explanation by Figure 2. To gain the every time when you complete any of a Client which contains 4 Steps which costs you USD$5 per step, you will be rewarded by a Sales turnover by USD$30, which in turn you get a Bingo! and will bring you USD$10 (30 – (5 x 4) profit.
However, you quickly realise that it is really hard for you to employ a staff who is resilient and has cross-talent which can cater both the 4 Steps covering Business Development , Design, Production and Marketing.
To enjoy the economy of scale, you hired a Business Development Manager, a Designer, a Production Manager and a Marketer to cater 4 Steps separately and respectively. They work very hard and perform well in the very beginning, bringing you 4 times of Sales Turnover (i.e. 4 Bingo!) from Client A,B,C and D of USD$ (30 x 4) – (5 x 16) = USD$40 in total.
However, one day your Marketer requested to resign from his position, which you understand and let him go. Due to the fact that you need to have Bingo! only if you can do both Step 1 ,2,3 and 4 at the same time, as now the Marketer is quit which cannot delivery the Step 4, which means that the effort of Step 1,2 and 3 for the Client A,B,C,D will all be in vain, costing you in total USD5 * 12 = USD$70 lost in total.
In this example, you can see that if you do horizontally , you can deliver as minimum as 4 Steps for any of a Client which costs you USD$5 x 4 = USD$20 to get a Bingo! USD$30 Sales turnover.
However, if you go vertically, even you have done 12 Steps which cost you USD$ 5 * 12 = USD$70 , which means that even though you are more hard working than the minimum 4 Steps, you still cannot get your Bingo! reward.
This example exactly reflects the reality that the most hard working one is not necessarily the one who makes the most profit , only if you have learnt how to prioritise of your work.
In most cases a great success is brought by a cross-talent ability, while in reality the education system only focuses on producing expert with specific talent. Whether you go broad (horizontal) or deep (vertical) is a matter of preference which is no clear cut right or wrong. However, it is crucial that at least you know if you are encountering this Bingo! Theory in your daily choice.
In SaaS or traditional manufacturing industry , Minimum Viable Product (MVP) refers to a version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development. The MVP is a typical choice of go horizontal instead of go vertical.
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