What is marketing?

Summary:

A brief introduction to the concept.

Answer:

Marketing is the art of making someone want something you have.

Nonprofits
do a lot of marketing. They generally market in two ways:

1. Direct marketing of products or services.
   
2. Indirect marketing of the agency, its programs and its people.
   

In these days of greater self-sufficiency, nonprofit organizations
are selling goods and services which further their programs as well as
bring in revenue. The art of doing that successfully involves marketing.

Their indirect marketing is alternatively known as image-building,
friend-raising, membership development, community relations, political
activities, or citizen education. It's all marketing.

David C. Hammack wrote to ARNOVA-L (see http://www.arnova.org/list_srv.html) on 11/1/02:
Nonprofits derive
half of their income from the sale of services, a third from a wide variety
of government programs, a sixth or so from donations. The markets for
nonprofit services and for donations are complex and diverse. Successful
nonprofits pay careful attention to the way they position themselves in
multiple markets, to public perception of their purpose and quality, to the
way they package and present services to a variety of clients and donors, to
their position in various marketing arrangements, to pricing, etc.

Why would nonprofit organizations want to market?

So people will know about their mission and programs.

All have something they want others to know about: They need to do marketing in order to fulfill their mission.

A few areas that organizations may want to market (promote) are: memberships, client slots, student slots, professional positions, goodwill in the community (see Community Relations), services or products to sell (e.g. sheltered workshop, plants from a nursery), willing workers (e.g., supported employment), and opportunities for volunteers.

Why are nonprofits often reluctant to market?

Some may think that it costs a lot of money (it doesn't) or takes expertise they don't have (it often does). Many, especially social service agencies, are reluctant to toot their own horns. They do not realize that the agency who tooteth not, playeth not.

Where can I find some simple marketing ideas?

Several are listed in http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/07/04.html

How do I market my agency?

You start by defining your product, your market, and your strategy.

For example:

1. Product = market speech therapy and audiology to school-age children.
   
2. Market = Very low cost speech and hearing screening through local area private schools (because the public schools already offer such a service free of charge).
   
3. Strategy = You invite the area school masters to a reception at your agency, present your therapists and make a presentation. You also offer to give speeches to their parent-teacher organizations.

How do I define my programs so people will understand?

Sometimes you and your staff can do it, other times you may want your clients to help you define it. Example: A cultural, educational, and social organization wanted to increase membership. It organized a series of conversations with current and former members. It found that its programs were not perceived as worth their cost. They then spent considerable time refining their programs and also did a better job of describing them in the program guide.

Conversations like these are called "focus groups" by the pros but they really consist of discussion sessions about what people want from your agency and what they think of you. The most important rule is to "play dumb", i.e. don't put words in their mouths. Listen to what they have to tell you.

How do I determine my target market and who needs to know about it?

For-profit organizations determine their markets by conducting marketing research. As a nonprofit, however, some of your market direction is driven by your program and mission. Once you have selected your target market(s), you should be sure that all of the people with whom you interact understand who it is you are targeting.

You need to do two things:

1. decide who you are trying to reach (target).
   
2. make sure there are enough of those people and that they want or need what you are trying to market to them.
   

There are untold dozens of lectures about not making your market too broad or two narrow but only you can decide that. Once you have selected your target market(s), you should be sure that all of the people with whom you interact understand who it is you are targeting. This means getting that message out to anyone with whom you do business. That may include:

• Your clients
  
• Your volunteers
  
• Your board members
  
• Your oversight agencies
  
• Your donors
  
• The people you sell services to
  
• The families of your clients
  
• Your members
  
• Your students
  
• Purchasers of your goods or services
  
• And others who have a relationship to your services or your mission
  

It is equally if not more important that you do the same with potential donors, as you need to be sure that you can support your organization in it's effort to reach the market you have selected.

How do I set my marketing strategy?

There is a brief discussion in http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/07/10.html

What are some simple things I can do to get started at low cost?

There are some ideas in http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/07/11.html

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Revised 9/29/00; several items combined into one and edited 11/1/02 -- PB