SOCIAL MARKETING

SOCIAL MARKETING
Social marketing is marketing for promoting the social interests. Society is a system of usages and procedures & mutual aid, of many groupings and divisions, of control of human behavior and of liberties. This ever-changing complex system is what we term as Society. It is the web of social relationships and is always changing.

 It is also important to mention that society is not

limited to human beings. There are animal societies of many degrees. The remarkable social organizations of the insects such as ants, bees, hornets etc., the social organizations of dogs, cats, birds and other animals and reptiles. Wherever there is life, there is a society because life means heredity and can arise only out of and in the presence of other life.

 The perception of society is thus related to a system

that provides a healthy environment to all the living beings to survive and thrive. We find that there are a number of emerging social issues in the society such as: We are on the brink of environmental disaster We find establishment of small affluent islands resulting into a big socio-economic gap. The majority of the population face the problem of safe drinking water.

 Lack of adequate sanitation facilities Deforestation is gaining rapid momentum. An invasion on our ethical values.

The majority of our population do not get even the

minimum medicare facilities. An imbalance in the development of quality human resources. Goods & service manufacturing industries and service generating organizations are instrumental in endangering social interests.

 Due to the above mentioned consequences, it becomes

imperative that policy makers, economists, environmentalists, social scientists, professionals, statesmen & others must think over the problem and attempt to protect the society. Kotler says that the Societal Marketing concept holds that the organizations task is to determine the needs and wants and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumers & societys well-being.

 Social Marketing is thus related to the determination

of social needs & wants vis--vis subserving their interests which is possible when marketers make possible a fair blending of social & commercial considerations in tune with the holistic concept of management. The concept of social marketing calls upon marketers to balance three considerations in formulating the marketing of policies, namely, company profits, customer satisfaction and public interests.

 The perception of social marketing thus focuses on

application of marketing principles keeping in view the public/social interests. Social marketing seeks to influence social behavior, not to benefit the marketer but to benefit the general public/target audience. Advertising contributes substantially to social marketing. It acts as a tool to help masses to be more conscious.

 We cannot deny the fact that advertising has a

persuasive and powerful influence on society. The campaigns related to anti-smoking, anti-drugs, AIDS awareness, anti-pollution, nutritional awareness, birth control, ethnic & social discrimination are all part of social advertising. Of late, we find use of this tool to promote public interests. The main theme in the social advertising is to promote social issues in such a way that mass awareness is created and communicated in a positive manner that is acceptable to society.

 A change in social attitude plays a decisive role in

making things sensitive or insensitive. We need to get to the bottom of the problem; in order to make the slogans, the messages and the appeals to be effective. In a dynamic society, which has changing values & beliefs how does one advocate social messages, with respect to AIDS, when most of our ads promote modern lifestyles, adopt costumes that are provocative & our movies have sex generating scenes?

 Before launching any social marketing concept, some

conditions are deemed essential to make it successful. A strong positive intention on the part of individuals. There should be no environmental constraints for the desired behavior. Possession of skills to perform the behavior. The belief in the people that a specific change will give them advantages & the capacity to adopt the change under different circumstances.

 Steps in Social Marketing: In order to be effective,

the social marketing program must be based on extensive research. The research must consider: I) (a) The problem to be solved. (b) The population which suffers the problem. (c) The message. (d) The channels which may be used for this. This will aid in providing a thorough background for social marketing.

II) Determination of a specific goal. The focus should be a single goal which is taken up for public campaign. III) The creation of awareness- the main step in social marketing. IV) Reaching out to the target audience.

Components/Marketing Mix for Social Marketing

Social marketing makes use of commercial

marketing theories, tools & techniques to social issues. It applies a customer-oriented approach. The planning process takes consumer focus into account by addressing the elements of the marketing mix. This refers to decisions about: The conception of a Product Price Place or the distribution mix Promotion

 These are called the 4 Ps. In Social marketing, there

are a few additional Ps namely, Policy Partnership Politics Purse-strings Publics

 Product: The social marketing Product is not

necessarily a physical offering. A continuum of products exists, that range from the tangible/ physical products (e.g. condoms) to services (medical examinations), practices (e.g. breast feeding, ORT, eating a nutritious/healthy diet) and finally more intangible ideas (e.g. environmental protection). In order to have a product that is viable, it is essential that people must first perceive that they have a genuine or serious problem and that the product offering is a good/correct solution for that problem.

The role of research here is to discover the consumers perception of the problem and the product & to determine how important they deem fit to take the necessary action against the problem. Price: This refers to what the consumer must do in order to obtain the social marketing product. The cost maybe monetary, or may require the consumer to give up intangibles, such as time, or effort, or to risk embarrassment & disapproval. If the cost outweigh the benefits for an individual, the perceived value of the offering will be low is unlikely to be accepted. However, if the benefits are perceived as

greater than their costs, then the chances of trial and adoption of the product is much greater. E.g. a smoker who is being persuaded to give it up must be convinced that he is giving up smoking for his own well-being. Must be able to appeal to an existing set of values already in society. In setting the price, particularly for a physical product, such as contraceptives, many issues must be considered. If the product is priced too low, or provided free of charge, the consumer may perceive it as low quality. And, if the price is too high, some will not be able to afford it. Important to balance these considerations.

 Place: Place describes the way that the product will

reach the consumer/target audience. For a tangible product, place refers to the distribution systemwarehouse, trucks, sales-force, retail-outlets or places where it is given out free. For an intangible product, place refers to decisions about channels through which consumers are reached with information or training. This may include doctors clinics, hospitals, shopping malls, mass-media vehicles, schools, clubs, institutions etc. Another element in place is deciding how to employ the accessibility of the offering & quality of service delivery.

 Promotion: this consists of the integrated use of

advertising, Public Relations, Personal selling, Media advertising and entertainment vehicles. The focus is on creating and sustaining demand for the product. Public Service Announcements (PSAs) or paid ads are one way but there are other methods such as coupons, editorials, media events, in-store displays, demos etc. Policy: Social marketing aims at providing mental guidelines for future behavior. It must motivate individual behavior change. It involves the determination of specific policies as a part of the goals to be achieved. The policy should not violate ethical, cultural or religious norms that exist in a given society.

 Politics: Since social marketing is associated with the

community in general, political and governmental patronage is required to make it a success. It makes marketing easier and effective. Publics: Social marketers often have many different audiences that their programs has to address in order to be successful. Publics refers to both the external and internal groups involved in the program. External publics includes the target audience, the secondary audiences, policy makers & gatekeepers; while the internal publics are those who are involved in some way with either approval or implementation of the program.

 Purse Strings: Most organizations that develop social

marketing programs operate through funds provided by services such as foundations, governmental grants or donations. It is important to consider from where money will be generated to create the program. Stages Of Change: Create awareness & interest. Change attitudes and conditions. Motivate people to want to change their behavior. Empower people to act. Prevent backsliding.

 Steps in Social Marketing Campaign: Identify behaviors you want to change. Identify your audience

Identify & reduce barriers

Pretest your ideas Publicize actions & benefits Assess your results

Managing a Social Marketing Campaign

Define and understand (a) Define the problem (b) Define your goals (c) Define your audience (d) Understand your audience. II) Choose Appropriate Strategies: (a) Brainstorm strategies (b) Decide the amount of time & resources for each subgroup (c) Define to create different strategies for each segment, or just different messages & mediums (d) Choose specific strategies (e) Design messages (f) Select channels of communication (g) Pretest ideas & messages.
I)

Managing a Social Marketing Campaign

III) Implement and evaluate: (a) Establish a tracking system (b) Continuously modify your work based on results (c) Celebrate your accomplishments.

To make behavior change easier & rewarding

1.

Conduct market research & find out:

The real reasons people are willing to contemplate changing their behavior. How people would prefer to accomplish behavior change. Whether opinions of others would sway the target audiences decision. What benefits or costs would actually push people to make the desired change. What kind of support would make it easier for people to change.

To make behavior change easier & rewarding

2.

Develop a strategy :

Think about what the target audience needs to make change possible. Decide how to maximize benefits. Decide how to minimize costs. Learn about and counter the competitors. Make the new behavior socially desirable. Make the change easily done.