Social entrepreneurs are people who create innovative solutions to the problems of society by offering new ideas and tackling major problems in society. Business entrepreneurs tend to see their social counterparts as more of a do-gooder who wastes time chasing after the cause. However, entrepreneurs see business people as greedy good for nothing business-minded folks who care less about society and more about their own profit. What’s worst, marketers are being viewed by both parties as conniving liars. what is the solution so that we can improve marketing in social entrepreneurship?
So, what’s missing in social entrepreneurship marketing?
1. Why is there a negative view to marketing?
There are a lot of reasons why people view marketing as a negative approach. Fist of all, many universities tend to overlook marketing, and some even go to extremes as to refer to it as an evil sin. Second, successful marketing people tend to learn about the skill in the job, especially if their superiors pressure them to really sell the product. In some cases, if they do not meet the sales quota at the end of the month, they lose their jobs.
Lastly, there are those who have a fear of rejection. The marketing world is a tough environment where only those who really sell the product will get the results that they want. Some prospects tend to reject salespeople and sometimes insult the marketer. With these misunderstandings and also the fact that marketing is a very important factor in any industry,
2. Understanding the importance of marketing
Marketing is very important and sometimes it is very difficult to explain this to people who view it negatively. But what we always want to share with these folks is that in order for us to obtain customers, which are the foundation of any business, we need to have an effective marketing plan. If marketing is not present, how can we attract customers? Also, marketing works hand in hand with innovation because these two can produce results. With that said, marketing is an important function that any business owner, even social entrepreneurs, need to have.
3. A perfect marketing plan
Once you know the importance of marketing, you will now need not just a good marketing plan, but a perfect one. Marketing people tend to use different methods in order to achieve results like setting goals and strategies. In order to have a perfect plan, you will really need to fine-tune your process so that you can ensure that your goals are met at the end of the day.
The building blocks of marketing
With goals set, you will now need to move to the next step. There are seven building blocks when it comes to marketing and these are:
1. Positioning strategies can assist you when identifying your target audience and also help in filling their needs and distinguishing you from your competitors.
2. Pricing strategies – you will need these in order to provide your products to your audience at friendly prices.
3. Product strategies can provide products depending on the needs or wants of your audience.
4. Corporate images can promote or enhance the image of your company.
5. Marketing information systems are strategies than can assist you in researching important and useful data.
6. Distribution strategies will make it easier for your audience to locate, purchase and then use your product.
7. Promotion strategies will make it better for you to promote the benefits and features of your product to your customers and prospects.
By identifying the missing ingredient in marketing, you can turn marketing into a negative outlook to a more positive one, and at the same time start a successful campaign as well.
Article Written by Gianfranco Colombi | Engineer and strategist, focused on intelligent design and meaningful ideas.
