0|Page

A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY ON SOCIAL MARKETING

M.SIVA SHANKAR B.com.,
This article reviews the challenges encountered by social marketing also some suggestions to wrestle them. In addition to this it also reveals on the theoretical aspects of social marketing like their mechanism, tactics, scope, objective range, components etc.,

TRACK CODE: M/IC/2012 ADDRESS: NO: 25, velu nagar, Vanniar palayam, Cuddalore-607001, Tamil Nad u, INDIA. MOBILE : +91-8056467696 MAIL:heartsofsiva@gmail.com 1/28/2011
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING

1|Page

ABSTRACT:
This article reviews the problems that are encountered by social marketing. To give a precise definition its better to state that Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing along with other concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioural goals for a social well. Social marketing can be applied to promote merit goods, or to make a society avoid demerit goods and thus to promote society's wellbeing as a whole. Social marketing is being described as having two parents one is a "social parent" with social sciences and social policy, and a marketing parent with commercial marketing approaches. These social marketers face problems in many areas at many dimensions. I have made an attempt to bulletin those obstacles also listed some suggestions to overcome them. If all these problems are anticipated and handled creatively, social marketing efforts can succeed.

A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING

2|Page

INTRODUCTION: Marketing is often being blamed for being too expensive, profit and corporate oriented. the purists in business management and business

philosophy are with a view that marketing is responsible for all the vices that business philosophy are with a view that marketing is responsible for all the vices that business creates in society. Marketing is often criticised for creating materialism in society also have made an unnecessary demand for products which customers would not have asked for. Because marketing is of suppressed desires of materialistic would take over the moral man. People of this thought are of opinion of that marketing creates surplus profit which in turn used to improve their design, label, quality. But both schools agree business as an economic activity. And it was realised very late that marketing can also address social issues .As a result they started viewing marketing tools as a vehicle to non-profit enterprise. Later on this was an initiative for this emerging class social marketing. ANTIQUITY OF SOCIAL MARKETING: The olden times of social marketing has foot traces with growth and maturity of human beings from its birth in the early 1960s. Through its present status as a respected discipline. After implementations of several practical theories with varying definitions and applications, the 1990 saw a breakthrough in concept and practice by focusing on behaviour change. Despite the growth in the number of textbooks, practical guides, campaigns. Social marketing in the 21st century has encountered a wide awareness and has been adopted as an innovative approach to social change. social marketing arena has its ancestries with the advancement of family planning in India in 1964.This early struggle focused on marketing of condoms with a hand in hand assistance from private marketers like Unilever and Brooke Bond Tea Company.

This success campaign was soon shadowed by a number of significant social marketing efforts over the next decade primarily involving the marketing of family products and services in a wide range. Growth of social marketing, except within the world of family planning, was relatively slow until the mid-1980s. After an extended an identity crisis it might be said that social marketing finally recognized its true development in the 1990s.
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING

3|Page

DEFINITION TO SOCIAL MARKETING: To give an eagle eye definition Social marketing is Application of commercial marketing concepts ,knowledge, and techniques to non-commercial ends for the society's welfare. In modest words social marketing the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behaviour of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society" 4Ps OF SOCIAL MARKETING: Similar to commercial marketing, social marketing has its own 4Ps. Its practices are based on commercial marketing practices that make the consumer the central focus for planning and conducting a program.  Price: Consumer must give up in order receiving the programs benefits.  Product: What the program is trying to change within the intended audience and what the audience stands to gain.  Promotion: How the exchange is communicated.  Place: What channels the program uses to reach the intended audience. GEARS OF SOCIAL MARKETING: Craig Lefebvre and June flora outlined eight essential components of social marketing which still holds today. They are as follows:  A consumer orientation to realise social goals.  An emphasis on voluntary exchanges of goods and services between providers and consumers.  Research in audience analysis and segmentation strategies.  The use of formative research in product and message design and testing of these materials.  An analysis of distribution or communication channels.  Use of the marketing mix utilizing and blending product, price, place and promotion characteristics in intervention planning and implementation.  A process tracking system with both integrative and control functions.  A management process that involves problem analysis, planning, implementation and feedback functions.
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING

4|Page

DIPLOMACIES USED BY SOCIAL MARKETERS: They use a number of tactics to achieve their goals. Their planning process may involve in several steps as follows;  Analyse the literature and previous campaigns.  Choose their objectives to be achieved.  Choose their target market.  Make behaviour clear-cut and simple to adopt.  Make eye-catchy messages and grab media attentions.  Utilise an education-entertainment approach.  Track the whole campaign till end.

CONTRIVANCE OF SOCIAL MARKETING:

WHAT ARE THEY?

y y y

Determine the focus of the program. Identify the program and campaign purpose. Conduct a SWOT analysis. Select the target audience. Set objectives and goals. Analyse target audience and competitions. Help their target to achieve the objectives. Design the market offering. Manage costs of behaviour change. Make the product easily available. Create a message and media. Develop a plan for evaluation and monitoring. Establish budgets and fund finding sources. Complete an implementation plan.

WHERE THEY GO?

y y y y

HOW WILL THEY GET THERE?

y y y y

HOW WILL THEY STAY ON COURSE?

y y y

A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING

5|Page

OBJECTIVE RANGE OF SOCIAL MARKETING: The following are some examples outlay the range of their objectives;
COGNITIVE ORIENTED;

y y y

Explain the importance of nutritional values in food. Explain the importance of afforestation. Explain the significance of conservation. Attract people for mass immunization. Motivate the people to yes to certain issues. Motivate the people towards blood donation. Motivate women to take medical tests. Demotivate cigarette smoking. Demotivate the use of hard drugs. Alter ideas about abortion. Change attitudes of bigoted people.

ACTION ORIENTED;

y y y

BEHAVIOURAL ORIENTED;

y y y

VALUE ORIENTED;

y y

CHALLENGES CONFRONTED BY SOCIAL MARKETING: Social market is conceptualised as the design seeking the acceptability of social idea in a targeted group. Besides having a greater scope they also need to wrestle with their enemies (challenges). Some of the key challenges are listed below;  Areas like organisational design, planning, strategy development, channel strategy are not more focused by these marketers.  Some social marketers find that they have a less secondary data about their target.  More problems are in getting consumer research than marketers in commercial sectors.  Many marketers lack in social marketing skills like convincing skills, patience and attracting skills and some also lag in communication skills.  Comparing with commercial marketers social marketers are less prepared in finance.  Decreasing interest in donating to social cause marketing stands a barrier to these social marketers.

A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING

6|Page

 They lack the vision to leverage all at their disposal as they have hard time thinking out of the box.  Also most of these marketers have under exposed their rand by not educating the public on what they do, as they start to focus on profile-raising.  They feel that they have to pay more on telemarketing and celebrities to give them exposures to attract people.  Also the current business trend has created a difficult situation to social marketers.  Many marketers are unaware of E-advertising strategies like facebook, linkedin, twitter, blogs etc.  In addition to these they also have a less address to extensive network. SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME THESE HURDLES: These below suggestions will help social marketers to wrestle their hurdles;  Social marketers need to market themselves more like a profit motive marketers like a new started company.  They can get in starting pages in social media like facebook, twitter, linkedin etc. to that extent their scope will go to greater heights.  They need to brand themselves as how people may be benefited from their services.  They need appeal with local channels, media, newspapers, radio and press to make discounted advertisements which may reduce their costs.  They may get a good scope and many relating ideas if they have a wide network.  Social marketers can engage with local politicians, leaders to help them in execution, and they can have efficient advisors to work 247 for them.  Create communities in all age groups to help relevant objective. For instance gather a group of students to a campaign to say no to drugs.  They can have an alternative wing attached to social marketing as the profit earned in that wing may be utilised in their social campaigns. This may reduce the dependability of external funds.

SCOPE FOR UPCOMING PROSPECT: The scope for social marketing is expanding in a faster rate and currently there are about thousands of social marketers operating worldwide. Also some commercial sectors have entered this arena where profit is not a matter of concern. They also engage themselves in many social, religious, educational, cultural and
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING

7|Page

philanthropist activities. The growth in this past era has envisaged an affirmative growth to these marketing sectors. Nowadays even political parties, fan clubs of celebs have joined hands in this social marketing which may improve the efficiency in a greater smarter way.

CONCLUSION: Social marketing, most fundamental feature is that it takes learning from commerce. This has provided key insights such as consumer orientation, mutually beneficial exchange, the need to focus on behaviour change and address the texts as well as the individual. As commerce is very practically based. Although the transfer from commercial to social marketing has sometimes been uncomfortable, it has brought benefits and passing the test for new disciplines provided new thinking. However the last decade has seen a paradigm shift in commercial marketing, from transactional to relational thinking and social marketers need to grasp the opportunity this presents. It has dramatic implications for the discipline, changing from a branch line of public health; to a whole new way of thinking about social problems. It also has fundamental implications for the social marketing research agenda which needs to start addressing relational issues. In particular, the link

between positive and enduring customer relationships and improved lifestyle choices needs much greater exploration and careful examination. Even though they face some hurdles trying to define effectiveness measures or estimating the contribution their program has made toward the achievement of certain objectives. If all these problems are anticipated and handled creatively, social marketing efforts can succeed.

A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING

8|Page

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Robert J. Bensley, Jodi Brookins-Fisher(2008) Community health education methods: a practical guide. 2. Philip Kotler, Nancy Lee (2011)Social marketing for public health: global trends and success stories
3. Tapan K. panda,(2007),second edition marketing management

WEBILIOGRAPHY: 1. www.toolsofchange.com/en/programs/social-marketers/ 2. www. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social marketing 3. www. socialmarketingblackbox.com/ 4. www.social-marketing.com/Whatis.html 5. www.msi.org/publications/publication.cfm?pub=123 6. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12280283 7. www.web.ics.purdue.edu/~tharriso/articles/socialmarketing.pdf -United States 8. www.benthamscience.com/open/towmj/articles/.../146TOWMJ 9. www.napcsyr.org/dwnld-files/.../21_social_market_economy_en.pdf

A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL MARKETING