Zeynep Timmester MPAG 8534 Organizational Sustainability of Social !ange Organizations "inal #esearc!

Paper $ecember% &'(3 Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations T!e nonprofit )orl* is becoming more an* more cro)*e* eac! *ay )!ile resources are s!rin+ing rapi*ly, -it! gro)ing *eman* an* trouble* economies% t!ere is less money% fe)er .olunteers an* *ecreasing resources a.ailable for nonprofit social c!ange organizations, T!is causes more an* more organizations to turn to)ar*s mar+eting as a )ay to stay sustainable in t!is c!allenging )orl* of social c!ange, -e can *efine nonprofit mar+eting as a nonprofit organization/s acti.ities an* effort to carry t!eir message of social c!ange an* generate re.enue as )ell as recruit .olunteers, Mar+eting is not 0ust about ma+ing broc!ures an* buil*ing a )ebsite, T!e important elements of mar+eting are .arie*1 t!e name of your organization2 your mission statement2 your ser.ices% programs% an* pro*ucts2 t!e location of your organization/s facilities2 t!e met!o*s you use in t!e use of color% s!apes% an* sizes in your materials2 a*.ertising2 public relations2 training of staff an* .olunteers2 t!e problems your organization sol.es an* many ot!er aspects of )!o you are as an organization 34e.inson% &'('% &&5, Some sc!olars an* practitioners !a.e concerns regar*ing 6un7uestione* a*option of tec!ni7ues *e.elope* in t!e for8profit conte9t6 an* )orry t!at it !as 6contribute* to t!e c!arity sector becoming o.er8commercialize*6 3Stri*e : 4ee &'';% ('85, "urt!ermore% anot!er concern is t!at 6t!e commercialization of t!e sector may !a.e resulte* in c!arities losing somet!ing of t!eir uni7ue nature% !a.ing faile* to *e.elop t!eir o)n i*entity as .alues base* organizations,6 3<bi*,5 T!ese sc!olars stress t!at .alues are social c!ange organizations/ reason to e9ist an* t!ese .alues s!oul* not be sacrifice* t!roug! commercial mar+eting tactics, $o )e really !a.e to gi.e up on our .alues an* become o.er commercialize* to utilize mar+eting for our sustainability= >o) can mar+eting contribute to our mission an* communicate our cause )it! t!e people )e )ant to influence= -!y is mar+eting so important for nonprofits= <n t!is paper% < )ill focus on t!e .alue of mar+eting for nonprofit social c!ange organizations an* !o) t!ey can most effecti.ely utilize it, Mar+eting is often associate* )it! for8profit organizations% yet it can be priceless for nonprofit organizations as )ell, ?onprofit organizations !a.e big passions an* great i*eas an* t!ese are t!eir most important pro*ucts, Mar+eting t!ese .alues% propose* be!a.iors% an* social c!anges is 0ust as important as A*i*as mar+eting its t8s!irts, @ust as nonprofits nee* grants or .olunteers% t!ey also nee* mar+eting, 6<t is a responsibility, Properly *efine*% structure* an* engage*% true mar+eting can transform struggling organizations into t!ri.ing ones6 3American Mar+eting Association% &'('% 45, T!roug! mar+eting% )e can 6*e.elop strategies to generate an* sustain t!e passion people !a.e for our mission an* connect t!em )it! our organization6 3<bi*,5, ?onprofit managers 6)ear too many !ats6 34e.inson% &'('% &5 an* are in.ol.e* in many tas+s at t!e same time, -it! limite* staff an* fun*ing% mar+eting *oes not al)ays recei.e t!e attention it

*eser.es, Some *o not see t!e .alue of t!is important tool% )!ile ot!ers *o not +no) !o) to utilize it gi.en t!eir limite* resources, 6Many nonprofits *o not !a.e a mar+eting plan% an* , , , many nonprofit e9ecuti.es *o not !a.e a mar+eting perspecti.e6 3Szala.itz% &''55, Why is marketing important for nonprofit organizations? It helps create relationships that influence behavior! 6A goal of mar+eting is to create loyal relations!ips )it! +ey constituents )!o influence be!a.ior, T!is c!ange in be!a.ior can be mission relate* suc! as A)earing seatbelts%B a*.ocacy relate* or fun*ing relate*,6 3Pope et al, &''C% D5 To create be!a.ior )e )ant for our social c!ange mission% )e nee* relations!ips )it! t!e people )!o )e )ant to influence, Mar+eting is t!e tool to create t!is line of e9c!ange, We need to communicate! T!e )orl* is c!anging continuously an* communication is at t!e center of t!ese rapi* c!anges, E.eryone !as a message to pass on% somet!ing to communicate, T!e le.el of competition to get our .oice !ear* in t!is o.erly cro)*e* arena of communication is a greater c!allenge t!an many realize, >o) *o )e get our .oice !ear* as a nonprofit organization= >o) *o )e get our i*eas out t!ere an* stan* out amongst countless organizations= As a nonprofit% if )e are in.isible% t!at means )e are not ali.e, To stay ali.e% )e nee* to communicate% an* )e nee* to *o it )ellF We have products to sell! $o nonprofits !a.e pro*ucts= AbsolutelyF Our i*eas% t!e c!anges )e propose an* our programs are our main pro*ucts an* )e nee* to 6sell t!em6 to our target au*ience, Our pro*ucts also inclu*e beliefs% attitu*es% outcomes% relations!ips% be!a.iors% an* more, 34e.inson% &'('% 85, >o) *o )e ma+e our pro*ucts appealing% con.incing an* !ig! *eman*= >o) *o )e recruit people to 0oin us in our 0ourney of creating an* *eli.ering t!ese pro*ucts= >o) *o )e ma9imize our reac! an* get more people to benefit from our pro*ucts= Mar+eting is our companion an* roa* map in ac!ie.ing t!ese goals, Competition is gro ing! @ust li+e for for8profit companies% competition is gro)ing for us, -e are fig!ting )it! an increasing number of nonprofits for goo* i*eas an* talente* staff in an en.ironment of *ecreasing money an* time, Got! for *onors an* .olunteers% t!ere are more options to c!oose from an* unless )e stan* out an* are con.incing% )e )ill be less li+ely to )in t!is race, To stan* out an* be compatible in t!is gro)ing mar+et of nonprofits% )e nee* to mar+et our .alues% pro*ucts an* our organization, <n summary% if )e )ant to ma+e an impact% )e nee* to mar+etF !o can e utilize marketing as a tool for greater impact? !ave a Clear Idea of Who "ou #re and $tick to It Hn*erstan*ing an* internalizing our mission% .ision% an* .alues )ill !elp us reac! ac!ie.e t!e impact )e are *esiring to ma+e, Staying focuse* in our .ision an* being loyal to our .alues% you )ill !a.e clearer gui*elines for your mar+eting strategy 34e.inson% &'('% (D5, Create "our %alue &roposition

A .alue proposition is a 6positioning statement t!at e9plains )!at benefit you pro.i*e for )!o an* !o) you *o it uni7uely )ell6 3S+o+% Mic!ael% &'(35 <t ans)ers t!e 7uestion I)!atBs in it for me=J for your *onors an* .olunteers 3Gol*for*% @onat!an% &'(35 Pro.i*ing customers )it! 6clarity regar*ing our reason for e9istence6 is crucial for t!em to !a.e a clear un*erstan*ing of )!y t!ey s!oul* support us,6 Once )e create our .alue proposition% )e can t!en communicate it t!roug! mar+eting 3American Mar+eting Association% &'('% C5, !o can e build our value proposition? $tep '( Kno) your customers1 -!o are t!ey% an* )!at are t!eir interests= -!at problem *o t!ey )ant to sol.e= Lalues an* interests are all part of )!o your customers are, $tep )( Kno) your pro*uct, 4oo+ at your pro*uct from your customer/s perspecti.e, -!at *oes your pro*uct offer t!em= -!at .alue *oes it a** to t!eir )orl*= -!at are some of t!e potential ris+s or *isa*.antages your pro*uct presents for your customers= $tep *( Kno) your competitors, >o) *o your competitors appear from your customersB perspecti.es= As+ !o) your pro*uct creates more .alue for your customers t!an t!ose of competing organizations, $tep +( Ans)er t!is 7uestion on be!alf of your customers )!ile t!in+ing from t!eir point of .ie)1 6-!y s!oul* < buy t!is specific pro*uct or i*ea=6 -e can start our sentences )it! e9pressions suc! as 6t!e t!ings < .alue most about t!e offer are,,,6 or 6it is better t!an competing pro*ucts or i*eas because,,,6 36 reating a Lalue Proposition 65, A goo* e9ample of a non8profit organization .alue proposition is1 IGy c!oosing to *onate to <n.isible !il*ren to*ay% you are ta+ing an acti.e role in efforts to stop @osep! Kony% protect .ulnerable communities% bring ab*ucte* sol*iers !omeMJ -e can un*erstan* clearly in t!is proposition% 6if < *onate to*ay% <Bm !elping bring ab*ucte* sol*iers !ome% as )ell as protect an* reco.er communities,63Gol*for*% @onat!an% &'(35 T!e message is s!ort% clear% emotional% an* appealing, All t!is !appene* in one sentence, ,uild a strategy! -!ile t!e competition is increasing% resources are *ecreasing for nonprofits, More an* more organizations are trying to get a bigger piece of t!e s!rin+ing pie, T!ere is also t!e issue of o.er8 cluttere* me*ia an* communications, Entering t!is cro)*e* an* c!allenging )orl* )it!out a strategy is a tic+et to failure for any nonprofit organization, 3?PO5 6Tra*itional mar+eting strategies are not )ell8a*apte* to meeting t!e goals of ?POs,6 T!e moti.es of for8profits are financial )!ile t!ose of nonprofits are not, T!e focus areas of a non8 profit mar+eting strategy are 6clients% .olunteers% an* *onors N fun*ers,6 3$e.eloping a Mar+eting Strategy% (C45 "or our mar+eting to be successful% it nee*s to be simple% measurable an* implementable, Alt!oug! t!is soun*s easy% it ta+es a lot of effort to *esign a strategy t!at )ill !elp us be appealing to suc! a !eterogenic target au*ience for many *ifferent t!ings )e )ant to communicate 3$e.eloping a Mar+eting Strategy% (C55, An important fact to +eep in min* is t!at t!e *efinition of mar+eting is not fun*raisingF

Mar+eting is part of fun*raising but it is also about attracting t!e clients% .olunteers% *onors% an* public interest )e are see+ing 3$e.eloping a Mar+eting Strategy (CD5, -no ing Our "our Customers "irst t!ing )e nee* to +eep in min* in t!at as for mar+eting purposes% our beneficiaries are not our customers, 6?onprofits )ant to !elp t!ose to )!om t!ey pro.i*e ser.ices% but in many instances% t!e people t!ey really !a.e to ser.e are t!eir fun*ers6 3Szala.itz% &''55, Our beneficiaries are not t!e ones t!at pro.i*e us )it! fun*s an* .olunteers, -it! our mar+eting strategy% our goal is to create .alue for our customers1 potential an* current *onors% .olunteers% prospecti.e staff% an* t!e me*ia, <n ot!er )or*s% t!e people% organizations% an* institutions may potentially contribute to our sustainability 34an*es et, al% &''C5, onnecting )it! t!ese customers )it! t!e rig!t tone% t!roug! t!e rig!t c!annels an* t!roug! goo* relations!ips )ill boost our success, >a.ing a customer *ri.en min*set in our mar+eting efforts an* putting t!em in t!e center of our mar+eting strategy )ill be a goo* step to)ar*s success, 6Gy focusing on t!e *onor or +ey constituent% organizations must put t!e *onor or constituent at t!e center an* reac! !imN!er from multiple c!annels% inclu*ing ne) c!annels6 3American Mar+eting Association% &'('%85, -!o are )e trying to communicate )it!% )!o are )e ser.ing% )!o are )e trying to con.ince% attract% an* connect to= -!at *o t!ey feel% )ant% see% e9perience% e9pect% an* re0ect= -e must remember% our customers are t!e target au*ience of our mar+eting campaign, Kno)ing our potential an* current *onors an* un*erstan*ing t!eir moti.es to *onate to specific causes are important in or*er to connect an* con.ince t!em, 3Pope et al% &''C% (C5 5 .evelop an Oorganizational $structure to $successfully Iimplement "your Mmarketing $strategy 6T!e commitment to mar+eting re7uires fres! approac!es to structure% resource allocation an* measurement6 3American Mar+eting Association% &'('% (35, One of t!e first areas nonprofits sacrifice )!ile money is tig!t is mar+eting, -!en *one properly% mar+eting )ill pay for itself, All carefully *eci*e* mar+eting e9penses s!oul* be seen as in.estments for t!e organization/s sustainability, T!e structure of our organization must be built aroun* t!is mentality if )e )ant to be able to implement our mar+eting strategy an* utilize our creati.e but cost effecti.e i*eas, /emember that Mmarketing is NO0 1everyone2s 34ob in your Oorganization Many small nonprofit organizations !a.e t!e e9pectation of mar+eting being e.eryone/s 0ob in t!e organization, <t is beneficial !a.ing t!e staff an* .olunteers in.ol.e* in mar+eting efforts2 !o)e.er% t!e 60ob6 of mar+eting s!oul* be assigne* to a professional )!o is +no)le*geable in t!e topic an* is *e*icate* to t!is ongoing tas+, Someone nee*s to be in c!arge% responsible an* on t!e 0ob, T!is person )ill *e.elop t!e mar+eting strategy )it! t!e participation of ot!er staff an* managers )!ile lea*ing t!e )ay, 34e.inson% &'('% &5 Invest in Mmarketing! <t )oul* be nice if mar+eting coul* !appen magically by itself2 !o)e.er% it )ill not occur unless )e in.est time% energy an* money, To fin* fun*ing for our mar+eting efforts% )e must t!in+ out of t!e bo9% sometimes go out of our )ay% spen* energy an* *e*icate some time, 3Pope et al% &''C%(CD 5
4

 .o not be #afraid to 5use Nne 0technology and .do it /right! Keeping up )it! to*ay/s communication tec!nology is a big c!allenge especially )!en money an* staffing is tig!t, <t is important to fin* t!e most efficient c!annels for our mar+eting communications t!at )ill ser.e our *efine* outcomes, -e must not be afrai* to try ne) tec!nologies, -e can start )it! small steps an* as+ for !elp )it!out stretc!ing our bu*get, ommunicating )it! ol*8fas!ione* c!annels an* unpopular tools )ill )aste our time an* money, -ebsites% social me*ia% cell p!ones are all goo* options2 !o)e.er% utilizing t!em )it!out a plan an* frame)or+ )ill only create clutter, -e must first come up )it! a strategy for communications an* buil* a *i.erse team to e9ecute t!e plan )it! ne) tec!nology, 3American Mar+eting Association% &'('% &55 0he brand of "your Nnonprofit Oorganization T!e American Mar+eting 3AMA5 state* in (CD' t!at bran* 6is a name% term% sign% symbol% or *esign% or a combination of t!em% inten*e* to i*entify t!e goo*s or ser.ices of one seller or group of sellers an* to *ifferentiate t!em from t!ose of competitors6 3Stri*e : 4ee% &'';% ('85 5, E.ery *ay t!ere are countless ne) organizations 0oining t!e nonprofit )orl* an* bran*ing !elps us *ifferentiate our organization from ot!ers, 3<bi*,5 Gran*ing raises a)areness about our organization an* cause amongst our 6customers%6 establis!es loyalty )it!in our fun*ers% .olunteers an* ot!er sources of support% an* !elps our target au*ience to ma+e a c!oice for )!ere to *onate t!eir money, 3<bi*,5 Our communities are fille* )it! bran*s of nonprofit social c!ange organizations, T!ey are seen on billboar*s% signs% t8s!irts% bumper stic+ers as )ell as tra*itional an* social me*ia, Our bran* is our i*entity, A consi*erable percentage of nonprofits see t!eir bran* as 0ust a fun*raising tool% but our bran* can carry us beyon* raising money, Our bran* can !elp us 6*ri.e broa*% long8term social goals% )!ile strengt!ening internal i*entity% co!esion% an* capacity,6 3Kylan*er : Stone% &'(&% 3; 5 <nitially% bran*ing )as focuse* aroun* 6tangible aspects suc! as name an* logo,6 <t )as realize* t!at t!is )as not enoug! for customers, T!e ne) focus is on intangible aspects suc! as 6bran* personality an* emotional benefits,6 Gran*s no) communicate .alues% beliefs an* *esire* be!a.ior% an* t!ose are t!e aspects t!at )ill *ifferentiate our organization, 3Stri*e : 4ee% &'';% ('85 Alt!oug! t!ere are concerns about a*opting a for8profit approac! t!roug! mar+eting as nonprofit organizations% t!is tool can clearly !elp us *ifferentiate oursel.es from our countless competitors an* become more sustainable, >a.ing t!e rig!t min*set% a )ell t!oug!t strategic plan% an organizational structure t!at enables mar+eting% an* preser.ing t!e mar+eting min*set t!roug!out all p!ases of our pro*ucts can lea* us to ac!ie.ing our mission an* becoming an unforgettable organizationF

,ibliography American Mar+eting Association, Mar+eting Transformation1 ?onprofit MOs all for a Transformation of Mar+eting 3 !icago1 AMA% &'('5, 6 reating a Lalue Proposition1 ommunicating t!e Genefits of Oour Pro*uct% Ser.ice or <*ea% Simply an* learly,6 Min*tools,com, Accesse* $ecember ('% &'(3, !ttp1NN))),min*tools,comN ommS+llNLalueProposition,!tmPst!as!,G++luET3,*puf, "oster% -illiam 4an*es et, al, 6Ten ?onprofit "un*ing Mo*els,6 Stanfor* Social <nno.ation #e.ie) 3&''C51 3&83C, Gol*for*% @onat!an, 6Getter ?onprofit Lalue Propositions Mean Getter #esults,6 -ire* <mpact, Accesse* $ecember ((% &'(3, !ttp1NN)ire*impact,comNblogNbetter8nonprofit8.alue8 propositionsN, Kylan*er% ?at!alie an* !ristop!er Stone, 6T!e #ole of Gran* in t!e ?onprofit Sector,6 Stanfor* Social <nno.ation #e.ie) 3 &'(&51 T!e #ole of Gran* in t!e ?onprofit Sector1 3D84(, 4an*sberg% Gill, 6T!e ?onprofit Para*o91 "or8Profit Gusiness Mo*els in t!e T!ir* Sector,6 T!e <nternational @ournal of ?ot8for8Profit 4a) D% no, & 3&''45, 4e.inson% @ay onra* et, al, Guerrilla Mar+eting for ?onprofits 3Toronto1 Entrepreneur Press% &'('5, Pope% @ennifer et, al, 6$e.eloping a Mar+eting Strategy for ?onprofit Organizations1 An E9ploratory Stu*y,6 @ournal of ?onprofit : Public Sector Mar+eting &(% no, & 3&''C51 (848&'(, S+o+% Mic!ael, 64 Steps to Guil*ing a ompelling Lalue Proposition,6 "orbes, @une (4% &'(3, !ttp1NN))),forbes,comNsitesNmic!aels+o+N&'(3N'DN(4N48steps8to8buil*ing8a8compelling8 .alue8propositionN, Stri*e% >elen an* Step!en 4ee% 6?o 4ogo= ?o -ay, Gran*ing in t!e ?on8Profit Sector,6 @ournal of Mar+eting Management &3% no (8& 3&'';51 (';8(&&, Szala.itz% Maia, 6?o Mar+et for Mar+eting,6 Stanfor* Social <nno.ation #e.ie) 3&''551 ('8(&,