As seen from the very 1st post in which we talked about marketing and its
importance in business world.Now we are going to move a little bit forward by
talking about societal marketing concept.
"The societal marketing concept holds that the organization’s
task is to determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets and to
deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than
competitors, in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer's and the
society's well-being." (Kotler, Philip, 1994)
The societal marketing concept is an enlightened marketing
concept that holds that a company should make good marketing decisions by
considering consumers' wants, the company's requirements, and society's
long-term interests. It is closely linked with the principles of corporate
social responsibility and of sustainable development.
There seems to be a lot of confusion over what is meant by
"societal marketing". For one thing, it has nothing at all to with
using social networking sites as a marketing tool.
Societal marketing is about not selling foods that are high
in sugar content in countries where there are hardly any dentists. It is also
about selling healthy snacks to western school kids, rather than burgers and
fries.
Examples of companies adopted
the societal marketing concept:
1. The Body Shop International plc. is the
original, natural and ethical beauty brand. The company uses only plant based
materials for its products. It is against Animal testing, supports community
trade, activate Self Esteem, Defend Human Rights, and overall protection of the
planet. They have also their own charity, The Body Shop Foundation, to assist
those working to achieve progress in the areas of human and civil rights, environmental
and animal protection. Thus Body shop is really following the concept of
Societal Marketing.
2. AVON Product Inc. has started an initiative known as Avon
breast cancer awareness crusade in 1993 in partnership with National Alliance
of breast cancer Foundation (NABCO).They started selling pink ribbon pins which
depicts the international symbol for breast cancer for$ 2 and donates $1 to NABCO.
Through the crusade Avon sale representatives have raised billions of dollars
for breast cancer education and access to early detection services for
underserved woman. In addition, Avon’s 45000000 US sales people have been
trained to discuss breast cancer and importance of early detection with their
customers and distributed 80 million flyers on breast cancer detection.
The societal marketing concept has become an excellent
strategy for promotions with social dimensions and for exploring consumers’ behavioral
response to such corporate ‘doing well’. Societal marketing can lead to the
development of desirable products and long-term, mutually beneficial
relationships, enhancing consumers' well-being without harm to society.
Green Marketing Part of Societal Marketing technique:
Posted By: Zee