Learn to deceive

Today I had a belated session of marketing in my university. I say belated because it was supposed to be at the beginning of the winter break, like 20 days ago. Taking it easy on the university people and ignoring the mismanagement, I found the re-gathering of all mates really interesting, and that was apart from the fact that we had missed, or at least I had, each other and the gathering and feeling of being in a class. This time when I was listening to my professor talking about concept, meaning and some rules of marketing, I felt how superficial these lessons are. Well, that’s only one adjective of many I want to use for them.

They are superficial because it seems like stating the obvious. I mean who needs to be reminded of importance of having a good relationship with your customers? Who doesn’t know that there is a need of the customer that is to be satisfied by our products? Same goes with exchange of values, being convincing, getting their attention… Don’t you really think such things are on the surface? It’s only the terminology that look new in most cases and nothing else. We should learn about deeper contents, I learnt today. But why today? It’s been like four months that we are on this subject, and I hadn’t noticed it yet? Perhaps it’s the help of the retreat; you stop doing what you have been doing, and suddenly make a comeback to it, and then your view is new. I should put this retreat strategy into practice to double check.

This new look to the whole marketing thing, however, made me notice something else interesting today. We were illustrating the example of promoting the services of our university. We were told if a prospective approaches you, and that he asks about a programme that Kardan (that’s our university) doesn’t offer yet, don’t tell them no; no direct “nos” in marketing. You shall tell them that you are working on it and will have it shortly, and by shortly we may mean up to one year or even never! The logic behind promotion is to change a customer’s want to a need so that they would fall for it. And when more discussing being it wrong or right our professor succumbed to the fact that “marketing based is lying”!! I was thinking why I decided business administration then? Not that marketing is my special interest out of all other subjects, but is there any chance it’ll be my profession one day? I can’t even think of it. Please pray I’ll stay an accountant!

Actually I was not enrolled on this class anyway, but I was already in the university and saw all my friends walking in the classroom and I just decided to check out the first session. And tomorrow we have another session, for our presentations. We are going to be tested on how well we can convince a potential costumer that our university is the best, which is not, that its lecturers are professional, who are not frankly, and how well we can be talkative in support of something. And you know what I am going to take it. Yes, let’s practice deceiving people one day. At least I want to know my potential in that. I don’t feel like I’m good at convincing people, at least not with words or in first impression. Wish me good luck (if you like to)!

Anyway, what is it really that we study?

Ali

Ps. No offence to Kardan teachers or anyone, but they know that there are way so many things to be done for it to be deemed a standard university. If you say no, convince me too.