Management in Non-Government Organisations - Term Paper Example

«Management in Non-Government Organizations» Table of Contents Introduction 2 Social Marketing 4 Media Coverage 10 Marketing Technologies and Strategies of NGOs 10 Communication Plans and Tools 11 Fund Raising Techniques 12 Other Marketing Techniques 12 Advantages of Marketing Strategies 13 Risks of Marketing Strategies 14 Recommendations 15 Conclusion 16 Reference 17 Introduction Along with government bodies, independent organizations play a very crucial role in the growth and development of a country. Independent organizations mainly consist of non-government institutions and they are very much an essential part of a growing society. Governments of different countries have realized the need of social involvement to eradicate social evils. Non-government organizations (NGO) are thus evolving as potential platforms for addressing societal issues. These NGOs operate with help of volunteers who devote themselves to social welfare. Since the last two decades, the NGOs have occupied an important place in society. An NGO can be defined as “any organization which is not part of a government and which has not been established as a result of an agreement between governments” (Abdelrahman, p.41). NGOs can be categorized based on their operation and orientation. Under the latter criteria, it can be divided into service orientation, charitable orientation, participatory orientation and empowering orientation. As per the former, NGOs are categorized as community-based organizations, citywide organizations, national NGOs and international NGOs (The Global Development Research Center, “types of NGOs”). These organizations are non-profit making in nature and their primary objective is to bring positive changes in society by conducting welfare programs of various kinds. In order to meet this objective, proper communication and planning is very necessary. Marketing strategy plays a very crucial role in this regard. Unlike profit making companies, the primary objective of marketing in NGOs is to attract sufficient capital and human resources needed to carry out their philanthropic activities. The NGOs have their own set of principles and marketing techniques for communicating with target audiences for voluntarily acceptations. This paper will attempt to analyze the marketing strategy of a NGO and its techniques. It will also attempt to explain the major risks and advantages associated with them. The concept of social marketing and various marketing technologies and strategies will be discussed in this regard. Finally, some plausible recommendations will be given to sum up the overall discussion. Overview of Marketing of NGOs Efficient application of marketing principles provides an NGO with a competitive advantage. In a nutshell, adherence to a business philosophy to put the needs and wants of the customers is expected to bring in a dynamic and positive stance which allows the organization to formulate and execute effective marketing strategies (Rao, p.172). Studies have revealed that NGOs use certain unique methods to carry out their marketing activities. NGOs generally organize exhibitions to sell off products such as bags, pouch folders etc. The products are generally made of environment friendly material. Such programs not only help NGOs to generate revenues but also provide a platform to their talent pool. These types of exhibitions are mainly carried out in cooperation with schools, colleges and corporate. Sometimes they even carry out events to create emotional bondage with the volunteers. In India, NGOs organize events like haldi kum-kum (specifically for the women) and Sathya Narayan puja to help volunteers create bondage in order to reach out to the masses. The marketing objective of NGO is to reach out to the common man and make them aware of their causes. Many of these NGOs print calendars and other such mementos with their mission and logos printed on them to spread awareness about their organizational activities. Some NGOs use Mascots to create an impact on the commoners. A number of NGOs felicitate their volunteers in their annual events to keep them motivated in their work. Media has become a very important medium of disseminating ideas. Annual programs are telecasted in the local cable channels. This has helped the organizations to spread their cause in more effective way (SIES College of Management Studies, p.3-6). The research study reveals certain marketing strategies used by NGOs. Child Rights and You (CRY) works in the arena of socially and economically children welfare. The establishment has a separate marketing department. CRY makes extensive use of brochure, newspapers, advertisements, website and television to make people aware of its activities. CRY has products such as greeting cards, clothes and accessories, toys and other stationery products. CRY organizes various radio workshops and uses television as well as radio celebrities to create awareness about its activities. The organization uses a number of campaigns to spread awareness among the common masses. CRY America has organized campaigns like ‘My Vision and Dream for Children’, ‘Eliminate Discrimination, not the Girl Child’ and Say No to Child Labour. With the aim to help the population, CRY has organized certain other campaigns like ‘CRY America Hurricane Katrina Rehabilitation efforts’, ‘CRY America Maharashtra Floods in India’ and ‘CRY America Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Efforts’. Social Marketing Marketing activities are executed in a profit making organization to generate sales. In case of a non-profit making organization, marketing strategies help to raise the necessary funds. Social marketing is thus very helpful for these non –profit making organizations. Many profit making companies also use social marketing for meeting their corporate social responsibilities. Social marketing strategies help organizations to increase the effectiveness with which social activities and programs are carried out. In order to understand the concept of social marketing, it is necessary to realize the common organizational goal of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Social marketing focuses on communicational and promotional aspects of marketing. The concept of social marketing was introduced by Kotler and Zaltman in 1971. They defined social marketing as “the design, implementation, and control of programs calculated to influence the acceptability of social ideas and involving considerations of product planning, pricing, communication, distribution, and marketing research” (Cheng, Kotler and Lee, p.2). Specifically, social marketing can be defined as an approach for planning and bringing social changes. Social marketing uses the same techniques and strategies as the one used for commercial marketing. However, its objectives and goals are different from commercial marketing. Andreasen (2000) has developed some comprehensive factors that helps to differentiate between these two marketing concept. The following table shows these differences. Table 1: Differences between the Commercial and Social Marketing (Source: Aras and Crowther, p.17) The above table is very useful and explains the primary objectives and tasks of social marketing in relation to commercial marketing. Social marketing strives to address social and public health. The foremost task of social marketing is to identify the social problems and to spread social awareness through effective communicational strategies. Proper segmentation of target audience increases the effectiveness of social marketing. Many NGOs have effectively implemented social marketing strategies to facilitate social activities and programs. Organizations from different counties are engaged in various social activities like public health, education, old age, child relief and human rights. The following table shows the various social marketing efforts initiated by different leading organizations. Table 2: International Social Marketing Efforts by different Organizations (Source: Honeyman, p.11) Social marketing can be categorized into two types i.e. product social marketing and non-product social marketing. Many funded NGOs promote products for social causes. For example, in Kenya, “DFID contracted PSI for an intensive 5-year effort to stimulate the emergence of a “mosquito” net culture for widespread sustainable malaria prevention” (Honeyman, p.18). In Kenya, mosquito nets were sold at subsidized rates to ensure malaria free society. Non-product social marketing deals with social awareness and aim to bring behavioral change without offering any services or product. Social marketing tries to educate its target audience in meeting the social responsibilities. In2003, in order to educate the people about HIV/AIDS in Nepal, USAID, Population Services International (PSI), Family Health International (FHI) and National Centre for AIDS STDs Control (NCASC) worked together. Their effective campaign slogan was “Let’s start talking about HIV/AIDS today” and their effort was able to remove the misconceptions regarding HIV/AIDS (Honeyman, p.21). Strategic Communications: Creating a Successful Public Relation and Marketing Plan For Decades, a number of non profit organizations have been following the dictum “Do good, maintain a low profile and others will provide” (Nimble, p.1). These ‘others’ include clients, charitable donors, public supporters, organization’s staffs and board members. It was viewed quite odd for the non profit organizations to allocate time and other resources to promote goodwill, understanding and support for their mission and objectives. However, in the current scenario, when the sources of funds are getting restricted and diverse, NGOs are in increasing need of new funds. With the availability of human resources and advanced technologies, distinguishing elements of NGOs are experiencing a continual decline. Visibility has gained significance and is needed to carry out their projects and activities. The entire fund raising and disbursement for the Tsunami victims in the year 2004 has pointed out the need of media to reach out to the fund owners. Today, funds disbursement is determined more by visibility rather than past projects and activities of NGO. A strategic communication plan is very much required to be in the resource plan irrespective of the funding strategy. Having a well developed communication strategy helps the population to recognise the good work done on the field and to offer creditability to the NGO’s work both in the eyes of beneficiaries and the donors. Strategic communication also helps the NGOs to raise the reputation with the beneficiaries as not being a temporary operator to an organization which understands the related issues and offers solutions for them. Lobbying can be another significant tool to influence policy matters. Population Service International (PSI) is a leading global world health organization. Its events are mostly related to malaria, HIV, child survival and reproductive health. The establishment has worked in partnership with various public and private sectors and has come up with life saving products, clinical services and offers communication on behavioural change to assist the most vulnerable population to live a healthy life. Through innovative social marketing campaigns, the establishment has been successful in creating both demand and supply in the local economies encouraging sustainable economic development. In cooperation with local clinics, pharmacies and community organizations, the establishment utilizes its existing resources to communicate the messages to the masses and distribute the products for the development of local capacity. The organization has involved the community in the activity processes to meet their requirements. For an instance, in Haiti, HIV positive individuals work in the PSI warehouses in packaging medicines and preparing products for distribution. On ground, PSI creates collaboration with community members, peer groups and educators to develop a strategic communication plan in order to reach out to masses. In the hard hit areas, the establishment collaborates with the community influencers to extend education and awareness among the prospective beneficiaries (PSI, “Building Partnerships”). Media Coverage Media has been an integral element in strategic communication of the NGOs. In this era of advanced technology, media has been that element which can create visibility for the NGOs. CRY has been trying to create visibility by advertising on digital and print media. The establishment has tried to be in good terms with the media to get access to the required funds as well as create bondage with the volunteers. The Charlotte Observer, NY Times, Tri-star Herald, Asian Voice Radio, Voice of Asia, KYTV9’s channel and Neighbourhood Voive.org are one of the leading media which presented news about CRY in the year 2010 (CRY, “CRY America in the News”). Apart from these few names, there are a number of print and digital media which showcased many advertisements on CRY. Marketing Technologies and Strategies of NGOs The primary objective of marketing is to develop public image of an organization, product or service. Proper marketing earns confidence and trust of the targeted audience. The NGOs’ targeted audiences include individual and institutional donors who make very crucial contributions to social activities by supplying necessary funding and by rendering volunteering services. The marketing plan of NGOs must influence these people as without their valuable contributions, social progress is not possible. Effective marketing strategies of ensure the sustainability of NGO by increasing the ability of attracting funds from different sources. In this process, developing communicational and promotional plans are very important. Karen G. Foreit has focused on some innovative approaches of NGO strategy that includes contraceptive social marketing (CSM). The CSM “uses commercial techniques and retail outlets to market low-cost contraceptives to low-income consumers” (Foreit, p.24). This is a type of product social marketing that ensures donor subsidies for product promotion. It is a very effective marketing strategy used for developing urban areas with advanced infrastructures. Communication Plans and Tools Communication plan is an integral part of marketing strategies of NGO that helps to build the public image. The communication plans must consider its strategic objective i.e. to attract people for offering donation. While framing the communication plan for NGOs, it is very necessary to analyze the target audiences. There are certain factors that must be determined. These are (1) language of audience, (2) communicating medium and (3) culture of audience. The communication plan for NGOs should be designed keeping in mind four basic criteria. Firstly, it should be specific so that internal groups and target audience can focus on specific goals and messages. Secondly, it should be measurable so that the performance of communication plan can be evaluated. Thirdly, communication planning should be realistic and achievable because an achievable target motivates management teams. Finally, the communication plan should be made time-bound to achieve pre-decided objectives within the given timeframe. The choice of media for communicating with audience is vital for effective communication plan. Most of the leading NGOs are using their own official websites, social websites like Orkut, Facebook etc and other marketing websites for this purpose. Organizations like Greenpeace, CRY, and Red Cross etc are using their own websites to promote their mission and social programs. Brochure, newspaper, television and radio are some of the most effective mediums of marketing. Fund Raising Techniques Proper marketing plan facilitates fund raising techniques for the NGOs. It has been already discussed that the supply of necessary funds in NGO determines its sustainability. The important sources of funding for NGOs include corporate, governments and individuals. The fund raising techniques vary according to the source of funds. For example, there are differences in approaching corporate and public for raising necessary funds. High level of transparency is very important for generating funds. The donors have the right to know the utilization of their donations and hence, sufficient level of transparency is very vital. For example, ‘Child Relief and You’ (CRY), a popular NGO, takes care of child related issues in many countries. In India, CRY was able to able to meet its social target by combining “professional social marketing approaches and organizational transparency” (D’Souza, p.9). NGOs implement several fund raising techniques according to their pre-designed marketing strategies. Prominent and effective techniques includes institutional & government fund raising, organizing events, donation boxes, fund raising through internet, foreign funding, direct mailing application etc. Tying up and collaborating with different housing societies and corporate sectors helps to raise large amount of donations. Other Marketing Techniques Other marketing techniques include a number of unique and effective methods to carry out the marketing activities. Campaign techniques are an effective way of attracting the attention of audiences. Currently, many NGOs are seeking help from advertising agencies for drafting and implementing awareness raising campaigns. For product social marketing, exhibitions are very useful. Manufacturing NGOs provides products at subsidized rates and the exhibition helps these NGOs in generating revenues. Slogans, logo and mascot are important marketing tools of an NGO as these help them to deliver important and relevant messages to the audiences. For example, the color of Greenpeace’s logo is green that reflects healthy and green environment and the primary objective of this organization is to offer solutions for environmental issues (Greenpeace, “About Greenpeace”). Road shows and street plays are very effective ways of spreading awareness among the common people. Advantages of Marketing Strategies There are a number of advantages of using marketing strategies by the NGOs. As mentioned before, in the earlier days the non-profit organizations do not bother much to invest time and money in the advertisement and promotional activities. However, with increasing number of NGOs, it has become important for establishments to create visibility. This is where the necessity of marketing emerges. Through strategic communication and other marketing activities, NGOs have been able to create visibility in the eyes of the beneficiaries, donors and prospective volunteers. These NGOs need enough funding to carry out projects and activities. Creating an effective communication and marketing strategy is important to attract donors and ease the fund raising activities. Attractive advertisements influence the mind and thought process of the prospective donors. It is just not enough to carry on the good deeds; rather it is more important to show the same to get the attention of the prospective donors, beneficiaries and volunteers. There are many NGOs and mobility of human resources from one to another is very much common. In such a situation, it is of utmost importance to get skilled volunteers and retain the same in order to carry out respective projects and activities. NGOs work for the benefit of the masses. In such a case, it is necessary to create advertisements and communication plans to spread the message to the masses. Effective advertisements help the NGOs to spread the message among the beneficiaries, so that they can avail the benefits of projects and activities carried out by the NGOs. Risks of Marketing Strategies Improper marketing strategies can risk the sustainability of NGOs. There are certain factors that must be taken care of while drafting and implementing the marketing strategies. The first major risk for NGO pertains to inappropriate choice of target audience. Miscommunication with the target audiences adversely affects the image of the organization. It is very essential to develop trust and confidence with the audiences as their positive responses are very crucial in meeting the organizational objectives. Secondly, the lack of transparency also hampers the image of NGOs. The donors have the right to know that the manner in which the NGOs are utilizing their donations. The social activities of NGOs must be communicated to its targeted audiences. Thirdly, vague and unspecific marketing strategic objective confuses the targeted audiences. This delivers wrong message to audiences. Fourthly, marketing activities requires necessary funds but over allocation of funds for marketing expenses may lead to the shortage of required funds for conducting social programs. Fifthly, excess focus on marketing activity may result in deviation of the NGOs’ primary objective i.e. social responsibilities. The management of NGO should realize that NGOs are non-profit making organization and hence, their primary focus should be on social activities. Finally, excessive use of marketing strategies creates unhealthy competition among the NGOs which is detrimental to the progress of society. Recommendations The recommendations which have been put forward here are an earnest attempt to assist the NGOs in enhancing their marketing activities. In this era of advanced technology, the organization is required to maintain a database in order to keep a track of their volunteers. Maintaining a database will help NGOs inform the volunteers about the upcoming events and activities. The NGOs often tie up with the academic institutes to tap the potential of the students for their root level activities. This helps NGO’s to get hold of adequate human resources. To tap the youth, NGOs can organize events, seminars and workshops regarding various social issues to make the students aware of their cause. Advertising in the annual college festivals, giving presentation in the parent-teacher meets, rewarding students can help NGOs to cater the causes. Apart from students, corporate can be a great help for the NGOs. An increasing number of corporate are getting aware of their responsibilities to society. By approaching the corporate, the NGOs can solve the problem of both capital and human resources. Even the corporate can purchase the products of the NGOs and sell them off during their cultural events. Such a way, the NGOs would be able to carry out their activities in a more organized way. Road shows, street plays can be organized to get the attention of the masses and make them aware of the causes. A unique logo and a supportive mission statement can be the base of a successful strategic marketing plan. Conclusion Non-governmental Organizations are agencies devoted to manage the resources and implement projects with an objective to address the social issues. These organizations are of great significance and considerable value to the modern society; hence the need of strategic marketing activities is of paramount importance. This is expected to help the NGOs gather revenue and make the common people aware of the work they carry out. Marketing in NGOs implies attracting capital and human resources to carry out its operation. Today the non-government organizations use a number of marketing strategies and techniques to persuade the prospective audience to voluntarily accept or reject the activities. Some NGOs are experiencing stiff competition in collecting the required funds, building creditability and getting more human resources needed to carry out social activities. Proper flow of information is therefore rendered imperative to make the society aware of the activities conducted by the organizations. In this case, media plays a considerable role. It is high time for NGO’s to keep itself at par with the latest intricacies that define contemporary organizations; extensive marketing in one such step. Reference Abdelrahman, M. M. Civil society exposed: the politics of NGOs in Egypt. I.B.Tauris. 2004. Aras, G. and Crowther, D. NGOs and Social Responsibility. Emerald Group Publishing. 2010. Cheng, H. Kotler, P. and Lee, N. R. Social marketing for public health: global trends and success stories. Jones & Bartlett Learning. 2011. CRY. “CRY America in the News”. No Date. Media Center. October 29, 2010. < http://america.cry.org/site/know_us/media_center/cry_america_in_the_news.html>. D’Souza, A. 1997. Child Relief and You-Cry (India). October 29, 2010. . Foreit, K. G. Private Sector Approaches to Effective Family Planning, World Bank Publications. August 1992. Greenpeace. “About Greenpeace”. 2010. About Us. . Honeyman, S. W. March 2008. Historical Highlights of Social Marketing 1969 – 2000. October 29, 2010. . Nimble. May 30, 2005. Need for Communication Strategy. October 29, 2010. < http://www.nimblesol.com/communication_strategy.pd>. PSI. “Building Partnerships”. 2010. Our Work. October 29, 2010. < http://www.psi.org/our-work/building-partnerships>. Rao, B. D. AIDs and NGOs. Discovery Publishing House, 2000. SIES College of Management Studies. 2006. Marketing Strategies Used by NGOs. October 29, 2010. < http://www.karmayog.org/general/upload/182/Marketing%20strategies%20used%20by%20NGOs.pdf>. The Global Development Research Center. “Types of NGOs”. No date. Types of NGOs: By orientation and level of Operation. October 28, 2010. . Read More