Marketing Is Not Just For Profit
Last week someone told me nonprofits don't ever sell, they "educate." Years ago, someone told me sales is something everyone does whether they want to or not.
So who is right? In our opinion, there's truth to each perspective.
Every day, you are selling yourself starting with the first person you meet. From the things you say to what you wear, people will make judgments about your character. The impression you make will affect the extent to which others will respect your opinions and follow your lead.
The same is true for organizations, be they for profit or nonprofit. Whether you advertise well or not at all, people form opinions about your organization from the things you say and do (or fail to do).
That said, it's true that nonprofits should not be pushing their services on clients. It's understandable that the idea of "selling" seems out of place for many nonprofits. And while we think it's important for nonprofits to market themselves, we don't think nonprofits should be focused on marketing their services but rather seeking to match their services with clients who will benefit from them.
In fact, I personally believe even a for profit business should not push products that people do not want or need. And most businesses have moved away from the "hard sell" of the middle-1900s. Just as nonprofits strive to be client-centered, corporate marketing has transitioned from a sales-oriented model to a customer-centered model. Of course, there will always be examples of nonprofits and businesses not adhering to these ideals.
This is not just a semantic discussion. Marketing is fundamentally an exchange in which one entity provides a product or service needed by a second entity. This applies as well to a nonprofit providing a service as it does to a business "selling" a product.
The question then is not so much are you selling, but how well are you selling? Or to avoid the "sell" word we could say, how well are you educating your client about your ability to meet their needs? In the end, every organization is marketing but not all properly focus on the client.
So who is right? In our opinion, there's truth to each perspective.
Every day, you are selling yourself starting with the first person you meet. From the things you say to what you wear, people will make judgments about your character. The impression you make will affect the extent to which others will respect your opinions and follow your lead.
The same is true for organizations, be they for profit or nonprofit. Whether you advertise well or not at all, people form opinions about your organization from the things you say and do (or fail to do).
That said, it's true that nonprofits should not be pushing their services on clients. It's understandable that the idea of "selling" seems out of place for many nonprofits. And while we think it's important for nonprofits to market themselves, we don't think nonprofits should be focused on marketing their services but rather seeking to match their services with clients who will benefit from them.
In fact, I personally believe even a for profit business should not push products that people do not want or need. And most businesses have moved away from the "hard sell" of the middle-1900s. Just as nonprofits strive to be client-centered, corporate marketing has transitioned from a sales-oriented model to a customer-centered model. Of course, there will always be examples of nonprofits and businesses not adhering to these ideals.
This is not just a semantic discussion. Marketing is fundamentally an exchange in which one entity provides a product or service needed by a second entity. This applies as well to a nonprofit providing a service as it does to a business "selling" a product.
The question then is not so much are you selling, but how well are you selling? Or to avoid the "sell" word we could say, how well are you educating your client about your ability to meet their needs? In the end, every organization is marketing but not all properly focus on the client.
Labels: CG Science, Marketing, Non Profit
posted by D. Board at
11:15 PM
1 Comments:
All to true, and is something quite often missed by the general public.
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