The meaning of life and evrything else

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.