Societal marketing
The societal marketing concept holds that the organization's task is to determine the needs, wants, and interests of a target market and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the well-being of both the individual consumer and society in general.
Most companies recognize that socially responsible activities improve their image among customers, stockholders, the financial community, and other relevant publics.
Ethical and socially responsible practices are simply good business, resulting not only in favorable image, but ultimately in increased sales.
[17] It is defined as an "adaptation of commercial marketing technologies to programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences to improve their personal welfare and that of the society of which they are a part".
It includes more than just advertising in traditional mass media, and may extend to educational programs and formal enforcement regimes in the case of road safety campaigns.
Another difference is that CSR "focuses more in a corporate level and stakeholders",[20] while societal marketing is more concerned about the consumer and their long term benefits.
One example of CSR among companies is what Häagen-Dazs is doing with their "microsite" to raise awareness to the general public about the preservation of the honeybee.
They are turning to all kind of forms of corporate societal marketing programs to help build and repair their brand images.
A company that appears committed to improving the lives of others, the environment or other worthy causes is seen in a better light than one who doesn't, and more and more business are hoping to benefit from that.
So, it can be so, that CSM programs are becoming extremely popular because the leaders believe that it is a good business to be viewed as a socially responsible company.
Since firms exist to make a profit, consumers may spend considerable energy in an attempt to infer motives related to the profit-oriented goals.
As an example, a consumer may be suspicious of a tobacco company that undertakes a campaign to prevent underage smoking.
So, in this situation, consumers' suspicions may lead them to infer motives that would actually protect the companies financial condition – as they are trying to improve their image to sell more cigarettes to adults.
However, if a tobacco company undertook a CSM Campaign, that would sustain their business, consumers may be able to infer profit motives more easily and then have a more favorable attitude toward the partnership.
They will meet resistance from consumers when they undertake socially-oriented campaigns aimed at mitigating the effects of their products.
Societal marketing has been the subject of a number of criticisms: A key issue concerns the question of who decides what is in the public's best interests.
[24] Gaski argued that marketers should step away from their classic goal of customer satisfaction and profit maximization while respecting the minimum governmental standards imposed by law and enter this public policy area, since marketers themselves would have to decide what actions are consistent with public welfare.
[26] The societal marketing concept has become an excellent strategy for promotions with social dimensions and for exploring consumers' behavioural response to such corporate 'doing good'.
In this context, anticipating consumer reaction is really challenging which can be affected by number of factors that often vary across different segments.
