Marketing: An Overview Marketing is a well established core discipline of business and, as such, has be come incorporated into the

functional activities of organisations of all types, whether they fall within the profit or not for profit sector. Governments have b een slower to adopt marketing practices for a variety of reasons. However even w ithin this sector there is increasing acceptance that marketing has a role to pl ay and can contribute to the development and implementation of high quality resp onsive public policy. Although the government is charged with operating "for the public interest", the public sector is not a single homogenous organisation. Different departments an d agencies have differing objectives, and the extent to which marketing is accep ted as an appropriate tool will depend in part on the function of the specific g overnment entity that uses it. Research into the role of marketing as a public sector activity confirms that marketing is consider to be more appropriate the c loser the functions of the government agency is to the private sector. For examp le, commercialised business units within government departments and government o wned corporations are more likely to employ explicit marketing tools and techniq ues than more socially oriented departments. However, despite opposition to the use of 'marketing', a majority of agencies ex press strong support for the use of the underpinning philosophy of marketing. In many cases, core marketing tools are being effectively used throughout the publ ic sector but are not labelled as being a part of marketing. The challenge for m arketers is to educate their public sector colleagues as to what constitutes mar keting practice and the marketing discipline. Confusion over the definition and domain of marketing practice constitutes much of the opposition to its explicit incorporation as an element of managerial prac tice in the public sector. In addition, the appropriateness of the marketing ori entation is questionable in specific circumstances. Unlike many other management tools, marketing has an implicit ideological and philosophical underpinning whi ch means that, at times, it is not the most appropriate approach to conducting g overnment business and in some instances arguable should not be used. Core Principles: Exchange Theory The core concept which underpins marketing, and which simultaneously is the ulti mate objective of all marketing activities, is the creation of mutually benefici al voluntary exchanges. In commercial marketing exchange is easy to define with a simple transaction of "I have money to exchange with you for goods and service s". In public sector, non profit and social marketing the exchange process is ty pically more complex, often involving a chain of exchanges for the realisation o f the final exchange. For example, a complex exchange process may develop as fol lows: Exchange 1: A company sponsors a charity dinner for the homeless as a tactic to be seen as socially responsible and caring (which in turn should attract more cl ients who share the same 'beliefs') the charity needs the money to carry out its programs and to maximise the benefits of the relationship, acknowledges the spo nsors financial contribution, and then encourages supporters to support the comp any commercially; Exchange 2: The charity uses the money to provide food and clothing to the homel ess along with an offer for counselling or other assistance the clients benefit from the charity's services; Exchange 3: The charity benefits as it is praised for its work via public awards or other recognition which in turn draws more donations - society benefits as t he charity provides the homeless with basic needs for survival which in turn red uces the public's perceived risk of theft or muggings (no need to steal for food) and increases the well being of the majority in that they feel less guilt in tha

t the homeless are being taken care of. Marketing is a two way process, not a one way approach to benefit distribution. For some people involved in the social and public sector this model is incompati ble with the way that they perceive their role and the role of their agencies. I t is often hard for those in the social sector to accept the idea that the ultim ate objective of their activities is to be involved in an exchange or sale whe re both parties benefit. This is one of the key ideological bases of marketing w hich operates against its use in the social sector. Core Principles: Customer Orientation A second core principle of marketing is the customer orientation. Effective mark eting relies on finding out what individuals want, and then supplying them with that product to the extent that that company can do this at a profit. Marketing's fo cus on the primacy of the desires of the individual ahead of needs of the broade r society is another area of potential conflict. Public policy is generally desi gned to serve the public interest. In cases where there is a perception that a pol icy unfairly benefits an individual or small group (known to marketers as the tar get market and considered to be a good thing), public and media reaction is usual ly highly political and extremely negative. Core Principles: Three Levels of Marketing Marketing as a managerial practice involves a multiple level approach which enca psulates the philosophy of client centredness, strategic allocation of resources through market research and market segmentatio n, and tactical development of integrated programs of product distribution and service delivery including the promotion of these programs. Unfortunately, few marketers realise that marketing is a holistic concept and management practice which is not value free. Consequently when trying to impleme nt marketing into new contexts such as the public sector, they encounter apparen tly insurmountable attitudinal barriers within the organisation. Many of these c an be broken down through a better understanding of the cause of the resistance. In some cases, the conflicting ideologies and beliefs which underpin alternativ e approaches to policy implementation are totally incompatible with the marketin g orientation. In those situations, one approach will inevitably override the ot her. The application of the three levels of marketing in a social marketing context i s discussed later in this monograph. Within the public sector, the most common u se of marketing tools is at the tactical level. Marketing: A Summary Marketing is a two way process Marketing strives to achieve mutually beneficial exchanges or sales Marketing is not a value free management tool The individualistic philosophical underpinning of the marketing discipline can a id and can also conflict with the role of the public sector in serving the publi c interest Role of Marketing in the Public Sector A brief overview of the issues related to adopting any form of marketing in the public sector is needed to fully appreciate the potential for social marketing t o contribute to the development of effective public policy aimed at attitudinal and behavioural change. Historically public sector agencies have had a tendency to use various marketing tools, particularly communication tools, on an as needs basis rather than adopting the whole of the marketing concept. In taking this a pproach, government agencies miss out on the full strength of marketing as a man

agerial tool. Failure of the Public Sector to use the holistic approach to marketing There are a number of reasons why the Public Sector does not perceive marketing as a holistic exercise. These include A limited understanding of the nature of marketing Poor reputation of marketing by the unethical actions of the few Unrealistic and often unreasonable expectations for success rates for short term , low cost campaigns. Problems with the use of market segmentation Limited access to involvement in the development of products which marketing is later required to `market' to the end consumer Misconceptions about the nature of Marketing First, as referred to previously, many public sector employees have a limited un derstanding of what marketing is and equate it with advertising and promotion. P romotion, which includes advertising, is both the most visible element of market ing while simultaneously tending to be the most expensive. As the most publicly conspicuous element of the program, the promotional activities associated with a marketing program are also the element that is most open to media and public sc rutiny. Complaints about the cost of government marketing campaigns are a stand ard media story which recurs on a regular basis irrespective of the content of the campaign or the perceived need for the program in the wider community.