If you find out what people want to see at the circus, that’s market research.

If your circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus coming to the Fairground Saturday”, that’s advertising.

If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion.

If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity.

And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.

If the town’s citizens go to the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they’ll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and, ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that’s sales.

It’s all marketing. All of it.

Which bits of marketing do you get involved with?

Even if it is keeping the elephant fed and watered, it still impacts from a marketing perspective. Would the public want to see a skinny elephant?

Think of what you do and notice how it impacts customers, either immediately or further down the line, and therefore has a marketing aspect. What does this mean about how you do it?

And if you are in a public sector organisation and think that marketing is not relevant to you… think again.

The seven aspects of marketing

My best wishes, Paul
.