This week Cicero is suitably chastised.
It seems that my comments last week on women who do their make up in full view of the commuting world, have upset the distaff side of my devoted readership. Cicero shall in future make every attempt to avoid such misogynistic remarks. I would hate to offend though I would point out that based on this week’s commuting experience, not too much heed has been paid to my remarks, misogynistic or otherwise. And in my defence I would claim that I am sure I speak for most men.
However if it is ok with everyone, Cicero would now like to put the past behind and move on.
During the course of my week I was asked a very interesting question. It was so interesting that I thought I would share it with you. Not because the question itself was interesting but as a keen business and marketing student, I am sure you will find the answer even more interesting. And if you don’t, then I wonder why you are here.
Anyway, I am sure you are desperate to know this question which was……drum roll……how do you define marketing?
A very good question, I am sure you will agree, and one that arose from a misunderstanding of my musings that marketing is all about communications. As I have said before all communications are marketing but marketing is not just about communications. This is the logic that says that if dogs have four legs then a cat is a dog. Work it out!
So if marketing is not about communications then what the heck is marketing?
The classical definition of marketing is ‘to understand and profitably satisfy customer needs’. For Cicero this is too simplistic who eschews, as you would expect, conventional text book definitions, to develop his own unique definition based on a lifetime of study and deep thinking.
So what is wrong with a definition that for many has stood the test of time? Now that is a very question.
For one, not everyone is concerned with profit. If you work in the marketing department of one of our large banks, for example, profit is not your benchmark of success. More seriously though if you work in the public sector, the value you add, and as I now know and contrary to public belief, marketers here do add immense value but it is not measured in terms of profit. And nor do marketers working in the third sector, charities in old money, think in terms of profit. So the focus on profit is wrong.
I also think that the classic definition of my noble profession defines the ‘what’ and not say enough about the ‘how’ of marketing. Nor does it say too much about how to succeed in a competitive world. And all businesses, no matter the sector, operate in a competitive world. Competing for share of wallet, for share of voice in a clutter of communications, for share of attention.
By now I am sure you will be nodding in agreement with my usual insightful analysis but waiting for my solution.
For me marketing must be about enabling a business or enterprise to deliver its business objectives or business strategies by satisfying identified customer needs based on delivering a proposition that is different and/or better than anything else available, by aligning the assets and resources of the business to deliver that point of difference and by persuading the consumer that your proposition is different.
And there you have it, the meaning of life, marketing and everything else. As my great friend Pliny would say, quod erat demonstrandum. Anyone care to comment?
Is it only me?
The more astute among you will have noticed that in recent weeks the eco-mentalists and health and safety gaulieters have been spared my ire. And once again you can breathe a sigh of relief.
Today I want to ask why it is that no one these days is able to calculate change without resorting to a lot of button pushing and an electronic abacus. Are we losing the ancient art of arithmetic? Are words like subtraction, addition, multiplication and division becoming as extinct as conversational Latin, Classical Greek and Anglo-Saxon?
I only ask because the other day I had to shop, not a pastime I find relaxing and refreshing. My bill came to £4.71 and I handed over £5. The till calculated my change to be 29p, a calculation I did in my head marginally slower than the electronic calculator. In a bid to avoid a pocketful of change I found an additional 21p lurking in the recesses of my pocket. I now expected 50p back, again a sum I was easily able to calculate in my head. However this was beyond the brain cells of the shop assistant. Clearly it was no longer possible to use the electronic abacus to do the calculation and so I had the ludicrous sight of a search for pen and paper to do the sum. Ridiculous. Yet more evidence that we as a nation are losing the ability to think for ourselves. I despair. Is it only me?
And finally. You will no doubt not be surprised to learn that the lift is my State bunker remains unfixed. I hope I am not breaking state secrets when I tell you this. I hope you appreciate how well your tax pounds are husbanded.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
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Sunday 31 May 2009
Monday 25 May 2009
Size does matter
Welcome back.
And I can guarantee that this remote corner of the blogosphere will provide a safe haven for all those seeking relief from reading about MPs expenses. This is not a subject of interest to Cicero who will always remain above the grubby subject of money and dedicated to providing business and marketing wisdom to his devoted followers
Last week you will recall I posed the question ‘what was the greatest thing since sliced bread?’ One very devoted follower of Cicero, with far too much time on her hands, has told me that the phrase derives from a 1930s ad campaign for ‘Wonder Bread’, the first mass-marketer of sliced bread as a product. Well now we know. Time must pass very slowly in the Yorkshire Dales.
Moving on.
Since I am not going to be talking to you this week about MPs and their expenses I would like to talk to you about size and to prove to you that no matter what men might like to think, size does indeed matter. More specifically I want to talk to you about scale and stature in business.
I think scale and stature are two very important qualities in any business whether you are in private, public or third sectors (and for those of you not totally au fait with the latest evolution of our language, the third sector used to be called charities.
Customers like to think that they are with a brand big enough to cater for and meet their needs and to service their business. Sure we all like the idea of being given the highly personal treatment that goes with a small business but we also like the assurance of a business of scale, of pedigree, of longevity, of stature. The businesses, the brands, we deal with and buy are a reflection of who we are and how we think of ourselves. And hands up if you want to be thought of as small and insignificant. Thought not.
And on basis of my constant marketing principle that everything communicates there are lots of small steps we can take to help build scale and stature into our brand.
In a previous role with relatively small sums of marketing investment at my disposal, I always tried to find ways for my brand to punch above its weight, to look bigger that we were. On one occasion I ran an ad on the largest poster site in Europe. It blew the marketing budget and we had no right to be there as such sites are usually reserved by the likes of BA, Sony, Apple, mega global brands all. But, boy, were we noticed.
And closer to home I have a friend with his own business. It is just him but he sought to convey the impression of an international business of scale and stature. His web site address was .com. He registered for VAT even though he did not need to in order to convey a business of a certain size. And the first invoice he ever issued was not numbered one as you might expect but 601. He did not want his first customer to know they were his first.
And then there was story, not apocryphal, of a leading London ad agency in its early days who pitched for a major account. They had to hire premises by the hour as they did not have their own offices. And they filled their rented offices with resting actors and students to convince the client they had staff. I think they got away with it but imagine the panic when the client asked to come back in to the offices to see them again. But they did convey a serious level of scale and stature. They did communicate that they had the size to handle the work.
So look around you. Do it now. And think hard. On a scale of 1-10 what is the level of scale and stature your business is projecting? What ideas do you have to move it up a notch? And go on, make them happen. You can do it. You know you can.
Is it only me?
You may know that I spend a lot of my time travelling backwards and forwards to my State bunker and this gives me plenty of time to watch and stay in touch with the State’s subjects. And, as I peregrinate through the realm, one thing puzzles me-why do women put their make up on in full view of everyone else while they are travelling?
Personally I am not sure I want to watch as the raw product is transformed from duckling to swan. Bismarck, the great German statesmen said that there were two things you did not want to understand how they were made-sausages and laws. I would like to add a third. I am sure no woman wants to watch me shave on their daily commute. I do wish women would follow my maxim for a happy life-if it can’t be fixed with a comb then it’s not worth bothering about. And that way we might all be spared having to watch the application of foundation, mascara and lip gloss. Can anyone explain to me while you must do it in full view? I can’t wait to hear if anyone dares to rise to the challenge.
And finally. If you still wondering, or even care, the lift in my State bunker is still not working. Maybe too much is being spent on MPs expenses and no money left over for lift repairs.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
And I can guarantee that this remote corner of the blogosphere will provide a safe haven for all those seeking relief from reading about MPs expenses. This is not a subject of interest to Cicero who will always remain above the grubby subject of money and dedicated to providing business and marketing wisdom to his devoted followers
Last week you will recall I posed the question ‘what was the greatest thing since sliced bread?’ One very devoted follower of Cicero, with far too much time on her hands, has told me that the phrase derives from a 1930s ad campaign for ‘Wonder Bread’, the first mass-marketer of sliced bread as a product. Well now we know. Time must pass very slowly in the Yorkshire Dales.
Moving on.
Since I am not going to be talking to you this week about MPs and their expenses I would like to talk to you about size and to prove to you that no matter what men might like to think, size does indeed matter. More specifically I want to talk to you about scale and stature in business.
I think scale and stature are two very important qualities in any business whether you are in private, public or third sectors (and for those of you not totally au fait with the latest evolution of our language, the third sector used to be called charities.
Customers like to think that they are with a brand big enough to cater for and meet their needs and to service their business. Sure we all like the idea of being given the highly personal treatment that goes with a small business but we also like the assurance of a business of scale, of pedigree, of longevity, of stature. The businesses, the brands, we deal with and buy are a reflection of who we are and how we think of ourselves. And hands up if you want to be thought of as small and insignificant. Thought not.
And on basis of my constant marketing principle that everything communicates there are lots of small steps we can take to help build scale and stature into our brand.
In a previous role with relatively small sums of marketing investment at my disposal, I always tried to find ways for my brand to punch above its weight, to look bigger that we were. On one occasion I ran an ad on the largest poster site in Europe. It blew the marketing budget and we had no right to be there as such sites are usually reserved by the likes of BA, Sony, Apple, mega global brands all. But, boy, were we noticed.
And closer to home I have a friend with his own business. It is just him but he sought to convey the impression of an international business of scale and stature. His web site address was .com. He registered for VAT even though he did not need to in order to convey a business of a certain size. And the first invoice he ever issued was not numbered one as you might expect but 601. He did not want his first customer to know they were his first.
And then there was story, not apocryphal, of a leading London ad agency in its early days who pitched for a major account. They had to hire premises by the hour as they did not have their own offices. And they filled their rented offices with resting actors and students to convince the client they had staff. I think they got away with it but imagine the panic when the client asked to come back in to the offices to see them again. But they did convey a serious level of scale and stature. They did communicate that they had the size to handle the work.
So look around you. Do it now. And think hard. On a scale of 1-10 what is the level of scale and stature your business is projecting? What ideas do you have to move it up a notch? And go on, make them happen. You can do it. You know you can.
Is it only me?
You may know that I spend a lot of my time travelling backwards and forwards to my State bunker and this gives me plenty of time to watch and stay in touch with the State’s subjects. And, as I peregrinate through the realm, one thing puzzles me-why do women put their make up on in full view of everyone else while they are travelling?
Personally I am not sure I want to watch as the raw product is transformed from duckling to swan. Bismarck, the great German statesmen said that there were two things you did not want to understand how they were made-sausages and laws. I would like to add a third. I am sure no woman wants to watch me shave on their daily commute. I do wish women would follow my maxim for a happy life-if it can’t be fixed with a comb then it’s not worth bothering about. And that way we might all be spared having to watch the application of foundation, mascara and lip gloss. Can anyone explain to me while you must do it in full view? I can’t wait to hear if anyone dares to rise to the challenge.
And finally. If you still wondering, or even care, the lift in my State bunker is still not working. Maybe too much is being spent on MPs expenses and no money left over for lift repairs.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
Saturday 16 May 2009
Please don't speak to me like that!
I would like to start this week with two apologies.
I think I have over-estimated Cicero’s power to move mountains. Yes, the lift in my State Bunker is out of order again. I will keep you posted. I was a tad premature with my celebrations.
And I would also like to apologise to those of you who tuned in last week for my wit and wisdom. I was away refreshing my batteries. It’s a tough life working ceaselessly and selflessly to protect and maintain State security. Thanks to the many of you who wrote in checking I was alright. It’s nice to be missed. And many thanks to the person who sent me an electronic Get Well Card, obviously fearing the worst. You will all be pleased to know that it was pleasure and not swine flu that had torn me away from my duties to you and to the State.
The last time I was here I spoke about cows and the need for businesses to be like farmers who named their cows, sheep and pigs and to get personal with their customers to optimise yield. Again a few of you were kind enough to show interest in this topic and wanted to learn more. And so today Cicero, as always happy to oblige, is going to expand and say more on what I call a brand’s tone of voice.
So what do I mean by tone of voice?
Your customer’s opinions of your business will be formed through your communications. According to psychologists, who are very clever people, 70% of the messages we receive are through are eyes so the messages we take in through our eyes are of paramount importance. It’s therefore essential that the personality and values of your business come through in the words it uses and the way it writes to its customers through letters, brochures and the like. If your messages don’t do this or if your tone is inconsistent then you will not be delivering the personal and customer focused touch that I am guessing your business wants to communicate consistently and across all written touch points. Having a set of tone of voice guidelines to help all who write for and in your business is not an option but a necessity.
And to have a great tone of voice in your business, here are my top ten tips. But please remember that no two businesses, no two brands, are the same and it will be up to you take Cicero’s principles and apply them to help you find your own distinctive voice.
#1 Always use the customer’s title and name in any correspondence, not his account number or reference number or any other sort of number. Do you really want your customer to be thought of as a number? A name is the most personal thing we as customers have, so use it.
#2 Sign your letters. It always amazes and saddens me how many organisations end their letter with a corporate squiggle, no name or anything. I am sure that you do not want to be seen as a faceless soulless organisation so do as much as you can to make your communications as personal as possible.
#3 Avoid jargon, acronyms and technical terms. You might know what it means but will your customer? You want your business to be seen as accessible and easy to do business with but using a different language to the one your customer uses does not convey these thoughts.
#4 Try to be as conversational as possible. Look to use personal pronouns and contractions as much as feels natural. We say ‘you’re’, ‘I’ll’ and ‘it’s’ when we speak so why not when we write for our business. But please make sure you know where to put the apostrophe if you want to avoid a deluge of correspondence from the grammar purists and pedants.
#5 Only be colloquial and use slang if your brand can support this. Most brands want to be seen as authoritative and expert but friendly and accessible and lapsing into colloquialisms means your brand might be closer to the customer than the customer wants you to be. Authentic youth brands might get away with it but it would be difficult for banks and other brands that depend on a degree of stature and distance to go there.
#6 Use active and not passive verbs to heighten that personal feeling. Better to say ‘I’ve read your letter and considered the points you have raised’ rather than ‘Your letter has been read and its contents noted’. Which business would you like to receive a letter from?
#7 Even if drafting a standard letter template or mass market brochure for your business, remember who you are writing for and visualise it being read. Always write for an audience of one. It all helps to make it feel more personal. Cicero always tries to write for an audience of one even though I know there are three of you.
#8 Avoid footnotes, asterisks and caveats. These can if excessively used cause mistrust and will look like you are trying to hide something.
#9 Be clear about what you write to make it easy for your customers to follow what you are trying to say. Write in short sentences and paragraphs, no more than say 15 words per sentence, with everyday words and phrases to help make it sound authentic and genuine.
#10 And finally read your words out loud in your natural voice. If it flows well and sounds like what you would say without cringing, congratulations, you now have an effective personal tone of voice for your business. If it sounds stiff, formal, bureaucratic, clichéd and unauthentic, re-read 1-9 above.
I hope that helped.
Is it only me?
Am I the only one out there who devotes brain cells to pondering the strange things we say? I was having a conversation last week with someone who mentioned that something they had bought was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Does anyone know and can anyone tell me what was the best thing before sliced bread was invented? I am also left scratching my head when people say we need to get our ducks in a row. Why ducks? And are ducks the only fowl we need to get in a row? And does anyone know if a duck has ever been asked if it wants to get in a row? Has some duckologist ever been given a research grant to find out if a duck in a row is a happy duck? I think I need to get out more.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
I think I have over-estimated Cicero’s power to move mountains. Yes, the lift in my State Bunker is out of order again. I will keep you posted. I was a tad premature with my celebrations.
And I would also like to apologise to those of you who tuned in last week for my wit and wisdom. I was away refreshing my batteries. It’s a tough life working ceaselessly and selflessly to protect and maintain State security. Thanks to the many of you who wrote in checking I was alright. It’s nice to be missed. And many thanks to the person who sent me an electronic Get Well Card, obviously fearing the worst. You will all be pleased to know that it was pleasure and not swine flu that had torn me away from my duties to you and to the State.
The last time I was here I spoke about cows and the need for businesses to be like farmers who named their cows, sheep and pigs and to get personal with their customers to optimise yield. Again a few of you were kind enough to show interest in this topic and wanted to learn more. And so today Cicero, as always happy to oblige, is going to expand and say more on what I call a brand’s tone of voice.
So what do I mean by tone of voice?
Your customer’s opinions of your business will be formed through your communications. According to psychologists, who are very clever people, 70% of the messages we receive are through are eyes so the messages we take in through our eyes are of paramount importance. It’s therefore essential that the personality and values of your business come through in the words it uses and the way it writes to its customers through letters, brochures and the like. If your messages don’t do this or if your tone is inconsistent then you will not be delivering the personal and customer focused touch that I am guessing your business wants to communicate consistently and across all written touch points. Having a set of tone of voice guidelines to help all who write for and in your business is not an option but a necessity.
And to have a great tone of voice in your business, here are my top ten tips. But please remember that no two businesses, no two brands, are the same and it will be up to you take Cicero’s principles and apply them to help you find your own distinctive voice.
#1 Always use the customer’s title and name in any correspondence, not his account number or reference number or any other sort of number. Do you really want your customer to be thought of as a number? A name is the most personal thing we as customers have, so use it.
#2 Sign your letters. It always amazes and saddens me how many organisations end their letter with a corporate squiggle, no name or anything. I am sure that you do not want to be seen as a faceless soulless organisation so do as much as you can to make your communications as personal as possible.
#3 Avoid jargon, acronyms and technical terms. You might know what it means but will your customer? You want your business to be seen as accessible and easy to do business with but using a different language to the one your customer uses does not convey these thoughts.
#4 Try to be as conversational as possible. Look to use personal pronouns and contractions as much as feels natural. We say ‘you’re’, ‘I’ll’ and ‘it’s’ when we speak so why not when we write for our business. But please make sure you know where to put the apostrophe if you want to avoid a deluge of correspondence from the grammar purists and pedants.
#5 Only be colloquial and use slang if your brand can support this. Most brands want to be seen as authoritative and expert but friendly and accessible and lapsing into colloquialisms means your brand might be closer to the customer than the customer wants you to be. Authentic youth brands might get away with it but it would be difficult for banks and other brands that depend on a degree of stature and distance to go there.
#6 Use active and not passive verbs to heighten that personal feeling. Better to say ‘I’ve read your letter and considered the points you have raised’ rather than ‘Your letter has been read and its contents noted’. Which business would you like to receive a letter from?
#7 Even if drafting a standard letter template or mass market brochure for your business, remember who you are writing for and visualise it being read. Always write for an audience of one. It all helps to make it feel more personal. Cicero always tries to write for an audience of one even though I know there are three of you.
#8 Avoid footnotes, asterisks and caveats. These can if excessively used cause mistrust and will look like you are trying to hide something.
#9 Be clear about what you write to make it easy for your customers to follow what you are trying to say. Write in short sentences and paragraphs, no more than say 15 words per sentence, with everyday words and phrases to help make it sound authentic and genuine.
#10 And finally read your words out loud in your natural voice. If it flows well and sounds like what you would say without cringing, congratulations, you now have an effective personal tone of voice for your business. If it sounds stiff, formal, bureaucratic, clichéd and unauthentic, re-read 1-9 above.
I hope that helped.
Is it only me?
Am I the only one out there who devotes brain cells to pondering the strange things we say? I was having a conversation last week with someone who mentioned that something they had bought was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Does anyone know and can anyone tell me what was the best thing before sliced bread was invented? I am also left scratching my head when people say we need to get our ducks in a row. Why ducks? And are ducks the only fowl we need to get in a row? And does anyone know if a duck has ever been asked if it wants to get in a row? Has some duckologist ever been given a research grant to find out if a duck in a row is a happy duck? I think I need to get out more.
Have a great week.
Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.
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