Moving Forward to the Organizational

¶ … moving forward to the organizational era, we are observing new marketing trends around the world. Even the non-profit organizations which were supposed to be totally charity and trust-based have adopted different techniques and methods very much similar to other businesses that are earning profits (Goerke, 2003). This change in non-profit organizations is due to the political pressure from governments and other institutions (Vromen 2005), and some of it is due to the response of globalization and changes in the perceptions of localities.

Huge importance is given to this sector now and it is considered as all other organizations in different industries (Treasury 2001). Now, even non-profit organizations are also facing competition for getting funds and for it they require proper marketing of their ideas to fulfil their mission (Andreasen and Kotler, 2003). In this regard marketing has a huge role to play.

But very unlikely to the profitable businesses, non-profit organizations cannot be customer focused as their idea is not for fulfilling the needs or wants of the customers (Gonzalez et al., 2002), they need to be "organization focused," try to focus on selling their story, and shaking the hearts of people not minds. Yet profit is not the focus of these organizations but still it is a factor of huge importance. Now, nonprofit organizations also think about the profit and make profitability analysis of the various activities done in marketing.

But as a non-profit organization's marketer do not need to focus on the changing demands but more on the changing perceptions keeping focus on your own organizational idea. The desired outcomes of the marketing activities are evaluated before implementing it. With the emergence of technology in every field, social marketers are also using web-based marketing mostly focused on marketing through social networking.

Apart from the fact that considerable amount of work is done in the marketing of non-profit organizations but still we lack the true definition of the customer of non-profit organizations. Scholar have classified these customers in two broad groups that are: (1) end customers who may include "clients, patrons, patients, donors, volunteer workers, advocates, trustees, committee members, local government inspectors, the local community" and (2) intermediary customers who are involved in the process but are not the prime customer group (for example, government agencies who refer patients to non-profit organizations).

All customers of non-profit organizations' are mostly termed as beneficiaries, as this term is mostly used by scholars (Bruce 1995). One more thing that non-profit organizations lack is the true globally accepted definition of their sector. Different scholars have defined it very differently (Gonzalez 2002). One thing which we only observe in this sector is that non-profit organizations possess quite good and cooperative relationships with heir competitors, as they all are working for a cause (Gallagher and Weinberg, 1991).

In this report, several marketing differences are discussed which directly or indirectly gives an impact in the deviation of marketing of profitable and non-profit organizations. DIFFERENCE in MARKETING TOOLS Application of marketing Mix: Whether it is a product or a service, marketing mix is the key stone of the marketing strategy for any organization. Without developing the marketing mix or what it is famous as 4Ps we cannot obtain the desired marketing objectives. These 4Ps of marketing include Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

In organizations' point-of-view, these four Ps are also mentioned as 4Cs that include Commodity, Cost, Channel and Communication. The combination of these 4Ps actually gives you the target market for your product or service. These four Ps as the broad constraints of marketing, and drawing those constraints give us the most feasible region that are the most likely customers to be targeted. Any marketing strategy whether it is or a product or a service, is followed by these 4Ps or 4Cs.

But making marketing mix for a non-profit organization is almost impossible because of the fact that it is based on the idea, a cause or a story (Rothschild, 1999). And personifying that story or cause is some unachievable due to following reasons The intangibility of non-business products: The idea of a cause on which the non-profit organizations are based, is totally intangible. And as already discussed it cannot be shown as something satisfying the needs or wants of a person.

The non-monetary "price" of purchase: For any profitable organizations, the marketers try to convey the idea that the customers are getting more value in exchange of the price they are actually paying. The customers while making the exchange always compare the value in return for what they are giving a particular price. If they think that the value they are getting is less than the value they have paid, they will be unsatisfied and cannot be retained.

But if they think that the value provided in exchange is equal to the value they have paid then they will be satisfied (Day, 1994). The most ideal condition for marketers is that they evaluate the value in exchange greater than the value they have paid, that makes them delighted and they not only make regular returns but also spread the good word. There is nothing value in exchange sort of thing in non-profit organizations. They are not providing any kind of value in exchange to their customers.

The return of value is not only non-monetary but most of the times it is of not any value. Their only return is their credibility and trustworthiness that they are doing exactly what they have said to perform for the cause or story they are working on. The extreme lack of frequency of purchase: Nobody wants to consume their money for which they do not get anything. So giving funds to non-profit organizations is of very low probability in any country's population.

So the chances of the retention are very low. So one need to get as much as possible in the first attempt as second arrival is very rare. The complexity of the non-profit environment: The most important constraint in the marketing of the non-profit organizations is their complex environment. One cannot give any value, cannot be customer focused and even cannot change the cause for changing demands of customers, so marketers have very less room to work on the marketing strategy.

Apart from that the focus on cause is itself very complex where you have to bear people with totally opposite ideas. Even you can face competitors having totally opposite cause and the will try to throw mud on your cause, thus promoting their own cause. So there are lots of complexities in this sector which one does not observe in the marketing of profitable organizations. The extreme level of involvement varying from very low to very high: it is observed that in the involvement scale people lie in total extremes.

Either the people remain very much involved and check each and everything of the organization before giving to them. On the hand there are some who do not even try to remember the name of the organization; they just know the cause which makes them giving the funds. So, these two extremes also make a lot of problem for the marketers as whom to target because you can not target the whole population at the same time.

If one tries to do so, it will make conflicts in their own marketing strategy. Customer Focused vs Organizational centred: The major difference in between the profitable and non-profit organizations is their approaches of marketing. Most profitable organizations are customer focused. Even if they were not customer focused then they are at a shifting phase and making a more customer focused marketing strategies. At the start of mass industrialization the companies are more products focused due to mass production, but this strategy does not award them the bet return.

After all everybody realizes that no business can run without fulfilling the needs and wants of the customers. And customers only pay if they think that it will satisfy some of their need(s) or want(s). Organizations even change their strategies due to changing demands of the customers. But in non-profit organizations, there is nothing like fulfilling or satisfying a need or want of a customer. They are solely based on their idea or a cause for which they are working.

Apart from that they do not offer anything else to their customers. They cannot even change their story for the changing demands (Flynn, and Hodgkinson, 2001. They have to remain focus on the single story and to build their credibility on supporting the single cause. Yet it is slow procedure but if you remain with your cause continuously support it and market it, one will definitely get the attention of the customers. Marketing through achievements: This is the biggest way of getting funds for a non-profit organization.

They prove their credibility and improve the trustworthiness through completing the tasks required for their cause and they show them to their targeted customers as what they have achieved. This not only creates a good name for the organization but also develop a sense of motivation to work for the cause. This sort of thing one cannot find in profitable organizations (Gainer, and Padanyi, 2002). No one will tell you that they have cross the sales target of ten million this year. The customers have nothing to do with it.

It can also create negative impact that the certain organization is earning so much and providing such little value to their customers. Yet, social marketing case, now organizations are engaging them for social causes as well and telling the world about their accomplishment for the social cause, but this is very rare and most of such activities are very much targeted for their own customers or organization. It has nothing to do with well being of society.

Top management leading the marketing from the front: The top managers are the biggest part of the marketing campaigns of the non-profit organizations. They have to come forward and show them what they are doing for the cause by themselves so that the customers will be influenced. The credibility of the leader makes a drastic impact on the marketing campaign of the non-profit organization.

They need to show themselves working hard for the cause and they need to have potential to influence the people to direct them to work for the cause. Simply means directing them to become their customers. But in profitable organizations, mostly top management remains at the back, just providing the guiding principles and developing broad strategies. They have nothing to do with specific tasks. Even it is very rare that they show them on any of their own promotional campaigns. They have nothing to do with their customers.

Their only duty is to design and implement the organizational strategy, monitor the working and control if change is required. STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN for NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS It consists of eight steps that are: Develop the Goals: The first step to the marketing plan is to develop the goals. These goals should be in quantity form and should realistic as well. The goals must revolve around the basic cause of the non-profit organization. Situation Analysis: This step is of considerable importance but it is mostly overlooked by the marketers.

This step includes the evaluation of internal, market and external conditions. The internal conditions include values, skills, staff, systems, and structures, the market conditions include e funding climate, a comparative analysis of other organizations, and the organizational niche or distinctive competence while the external conditions include social, cultural, technological, ecological, economic, and political factor. The conditions analysis can be done through primary and secondary research.

The primary research can be done through focus groups and interviews while the secondary research can be obtained through the literature review of the current trends. Market Analysis and Segmentation: For non-profit organizations, mostly the market is segmented through demographic factors. It is due to the reason the spiritual and holy motivation mostly drives people towards such sector. The largest potential market ideal for your cause is your target market.

Developing Criteria and Selecting Target Market: After segmenting the market properly, then the organization should develop the criteria based on their cause or story. The target market should be selected through the largest possible population that is supporting the criteria. Develop Market Strategies for Target Market: Now it is the time to plan how to communicate the cause of the organization with their target market.

This communication should not only include that particular cause but also mention what organization wants, what they expect from their customers and what they want to achieve for the cause in the near future. Programs and Services: After.