Bog Off

We are not yet quite in our VTSSB. We are moving this weekend. Last week was all about packing.

Have you seen any of these war films where just as the Americans arrive to win the war with the Brits nowhere to be seen, you get shots of defeated Germans burning and shredding plans and other important documents before they fall into Yank hands? Do you know the scene we are taking about?

Well something similar was happening all over the TSSB last week. Papers and plans were being destroyed in an orgy of shredding and burning. Many with much to hide, and no names are being mentioned as this is written, would be in awe of the capacity of state apparatchiks to burn and shred.

As is the norm the distaffs had their packing cases ready for weeks beforehand and spent countless days, hours and minutes trying to work out what to take and what to leave behind.

Meanwhile those with male chromosomes left their packing, shredding and burning to the very last minute. It reminded Cicero of the packing arrangements between the two sides as they go on holiday.

And we must begin with yet another apology-this time to Project Managers. Cicero was not having a go at Project Managers when he talked about going to the moon. Project Managers surely must do a good and useful job. It just so happens that these thoughts were inspired by a conversation with a Project Manager. Similar thoughts could have been expressed following chats with any profession, even with some, though not all, Marketing Grands Fromages.

If honour is now satisfied, can we move on?

Now many with aspirations to reach the top, and even Project Managers are included here, will know of the marketing practice of persuading customers to buy one, get one free. A practice more properly known as BOGOF.

Well it seems that there is a lot of scientific theory behind this. It is known as behavioural economics.

And even though Marketing Grand Fromages have been unknowingly applying the principles of this for years Cicero believes that the science and ology behind this should be brought to the attention of a wider audience.

To keep it simple this ology is based on 4 principles.

Firstly make the costs of buying your product less painful. Consumers always have the option of doing nothing so it might be a good idea to make it less painful for them to do something and part with cash. Delaying payment will ease the pain of parting with money and remove a barrier to purchase. Consumer gets instant gratification with pain later. DFS have a PhD in this.

Secondly harness the power of the default option. There is significant evidence that if there is a default option it will be chosen. This is what you get if you don’t actively make a choice. But when we are given something by default we are far more loathe to part with it as it becomes more valued. Defaults work best when consumers are too confused or too indifferent to make a choice. So make the power of the default work for you and your business. One telecoms company who own a big tent near the Thames increased acceptance of an offer by changing the script when customer called to cancel the contract. Instead of saying you will get 100 free calls if you keep the contract, they said ‘we have already credited your account with 100 free calls for you to use now’. Subtle but powerful. Many customers don’t want to give up something they think they already got.

Thirdly don’t overwhelm customers with choice. Cicero is a big fan of this. Single mindedness is key. Large scale choice works against you in two ways. It means that your customers have to work hard to find their preferred option, a big barrier to purchase. And it increases awareness of desirable features that have to be foregone in another purchase. Reducing the number of options helps people make decisions easier and be satisfied with their choices. Cicero can vouch for this. Just the other day a search was undertaken for stripey socks through one well known online website. The list stretched over 15 pages. And in the end overwhelmed by choice and indecision over the type of stripey sock that was best fit for the Ciceronic wardrobe, no sestercii changed hands. Disappointing for Cicero and the retailer.

And lastly position and price very carefully. Economists assume that everyone has a maximum price they’d be willing to buy and there is a wager here that Cicero with his Celtic blood line will be willing to pay less than you. Marketers can change and influence the equation. Take the example of the wine list in your local All Bar One. The most popular wines on the list are the second most expensive and the second cheapest. Customers who buy the former think they are getting something special but not pushing the boat out too far. Those who buy the second cheapest do not want to be seen as cheap skates. And so you may benefit from offering some slightly cheaper or inferior options. They may not sell but they will help shift the products you really do want to sell.

And now from reading this you have an ology. And with an ology you are a scientist. It is obvious really.

Now go and bog off and practice your behavioural economics in your business and let us all know how you got on.

Is it only me…….who thinks the world has now become a smellier place?

Now Cicero does not smoke. Indeed he has never smoked. What is the point in spending money just to watch it go up in smoke? That does not seem to make financial and economic sense and Cicero is big on things that make economic and financial sense.

And as a non smoker the smoking ban is welcomed. Life is now so much more pleasant in pubs, restaurants and on trains and buses. Anywhere indeed where people congregate.

But there is a downside to this and it is this-the world is getting smellier. The pervading smell of stale tobacco is now a lot more noticeable and obnoxious to our olfactory glands.

Similarly when leaving or entering any public building these days, and TSSBs and VTSSBs are included here, we now to have run gauntlet of bad odours and obnoxious smells which drift around the small knots of dedicated weed suckers who congregate around the portals of these establishments. It is smelly.

Maybe our noses are just becoming more sensitive to these smells but it is rather ironic that as our personal hygiene improves the world is becoming a smellier place. All suggestions to improve this state of affairs will be gratefully received.

Have a great week.

Sis felix. Et sis fortunatus.