Marketing Differences between Non-For-Profit and Profit Making Organizations in Australia - Assignment Example

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: 1. Growth and development of not for profit organisations in Australia today. The Non-for-Profit (NFP) Sector in Australia is also known as the Australian Community sector, the third sector or even the social sector and it entails a wide range of social organizations that are neither commercial oriented nor government affiliated whose main purpose is different from generating profits for the institution. Even though the NFP may make profits, this still is not their core purpose and even the profit made is brought back into the institution to support its normal programs rather than going into the pockets of the individuals. Even though the government is not associated with these organizations some of the government bodies like universities and hospitals as well as museums are linked to these bodies. The NPF institutions in the country include hospitals, sports clubs, religious groups, day care centres, recreation sites, family counseling agencies, environmental conservation groups, community services and many more (Lyons 2009). Over years, the sector has continued to grow as many new NFP institutions have continued to join. The recent survey by the Productivity Commission and Contribution of the Non-for-profit sector revealed that in the country, there are about 700,000 organizations operating in the community sector. Among these, 440, 000 are small unicorporated organizations. This is a very significant increase from the 2007 report by the Australian Tax Office which reported that there were 177, 109 organizations in the country that can be classified non-for-profit institutions. Among these organizations, the religious institutions accounted for 21% which translates into 8786 organizations, while the recreation and culture organizations accounted for 20% each (McGregor-Lowndes, 2011). Also among the NFP institutions are the charities which the Australian Taxation Office recognizes as altruistic entities and are officially endorsed to operate as charitable bodies. The charitable organizations are associated with such activities caring for the sick, providing relief to disaster victims, promoting religion and also providing education scholarships as well as developing the society. The NFP institutions have continued to contribute immensely to the country’s economy. According to report by the Productivity Commission’s Contribution of the Non-for-Profit Sector reveal that during the financial year 2006/07, they generated $41 billion into the economy valued on the services rendered by them. This value is equivalent to income generated by the Wholesale sector to the economy and more than what the government spends on administration and defence which is $40 billion. In terms of GNP, the sector contributes more impressively with about 9.6%. Further, the NFP sector is one large employer in the country with the current estimates showing that the sector may be employing roughly over 1 million people (McGregor-Lowndes, 2011). The strength of the NFP in Australia greatly depends on the people’s culture in donating freely to fund them and willingness by people to volunteer to work for them. The donations to these institutions are either from individuals and business bodies. Part of the contributions generated from donations go to religious organizations like churches and mosques as well as temples to help in directing support to the needy persons in the society. However, despite the large number of NFP in the countries, still some of the number operate below the expectations at local level as opposed to the local community groups and this is because of the little knowledge and experience about the society (ACPNS, 2010). 2. Marketing differences between non-for-profit and profit making organizations While the corporate world had recognized the role of marketing in championing their businesses by building their brands and reaching more markets, in the non-for-profit institutions, marketing is yet to be fully embraced. This is because in many occasions, what is regarded as the most important position is the program coordinator which tends to play low other positions including marketing. While in the profit making organizations, marketing function is charged with the responsibility of attracting more customers and making more sales for the business in the non-for-profit the situation is quite different. This is because the challenge for the non-for-profit organizations is to attract more funds from various well wishers and supporters to implement their plans. Marketing in non-for-profit organizations is aimed at generating funds from various sources like government departments, international agencies like the UN, WHO and World Bank and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as foundations like The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation alongside other individual donors and clients. In the non-for-profit organizations therefore apart from building the brand for the organization by making it known to the society by clearly defining its mission and vision, it should also engage in strategies to fundraise from the donors (Sargeant 2006). Unlike in the profit oriented organizations, the non-for-profit organizations are expected to have low budget for its marketing activities. What this means is that much of the work of the marketing manager is to try and solicit volunteer services from various individuals who could then talk to the potential donors about the institution and its core objectives and try to win their support. The low budget, in non-for-profit organizations, comes as a result of limited funds that the institutions get from the funders and which the donors want the institution to be accountable on how the money is support. Limited budget in the non-for-profit organizations unlike in the profit oriented institutions is also caused by the unpredictable funding the institutions get from the donors. Further, low budget for the marketing function is also informed by the fact that this is an institution that is not meant to compete with any for the market share and for that reason no need to allocate so much resource to those activities that may not have much impact to the performance of the institution (Sargeant, 2006). With this regard therefore, the person in charge of marketing is expected to do more requesting for voluntary support from outside rather internal financing. Another big challenge any marketing manager wising to apply for a position in the non-for-profit organizations, is the kind of staff he will be working with. Unlike in the case of business corporations, in the non-for-profit institution, majority of the workers are working as volunteers. What this means is that even some of the sales people who will be working under him may be working on voluntary terms. Lack of employment contractual terms in this case may turn out to be a very challenging task when dealing with people are very much aware that is nothing to lose even if they stop giving their services (Seymour 2006). 3. Process of promoting healthy eating habits among young school aged children. 1. 4Ps The 4ps of marketing also referred as the marketing mix, provides for four elements namely product, price, place or distribution and promotion that all must be addressed by given market plan. In this case, 4ps will be used to show various activities that will be committed by the marketing director in trying to promote the culture using health foods among school going children (Till 2000) Product The first and foremost thing to ensure in the product is the quality. Also to ensure the product is attractive to the market is the inclusion of flavors and colors are less chemical that may have no effect to the health of the users. Packaging will also be used to ensure that the products are convenient to use by students while in school (Till 2000). Price Selling the products to the students at more affordable prices will help the institution attract and retain more customers and also create opportunity for the students to access healthy foods. The prices will also be charged below the standard prices charged by the retailers. This is because it is assumed that the students will be more sensitive to price because they might not have a lot of money to spend on some products that they may wish to use or have. Place To ensure that students are able access the healthy foods, the market director may consider to establish its retail cafeterias or shops within the learning institutions. This will guarantee the students continuous flow of the healthy foods. Further, the marketing director will seek to establish partnerships with various supermarkets so that they can have the foods in their stores. Promotion The message about the food will be communicated through the magazines and billboards. Mailshots and public relations will also be used to promote the product. 2. Target market The target market for the healthy foods mainly will be school going children and who are the risk of suffering from different diseases that are associated with consuming unhealthy foods. 3. Goals and objectives I. To change of culture of consuming fast foods and that are unhealthy among school going children II. To increase awareness among school in relation to consuming foods those that are harmful to their health. 4. Strategies (Key message and positioning statement) High quality but low price will be considered in the best positioning strategy in the market. This is to ensure that not only the students get the foods of high quality but value in terms of price charged. 5. Evaluation Evaluation will be done to establish both the change in culture and pattern of using the foods produced by the organization. This will be determined by the orders made for the healthy foods among students. 6. Budget The budget for this plan will entail the cost of production, distributing and storing and supporting the staff that will be involved in the value chain process. This is to make sure sustainability of the organizations’ operations is assured. 7. Implementation i. Selecting the target audience ii. Developing the list of the anticipated client needs iii. Listing the benefits that the products has for the client iv. Create a link between the product and the customer need v. Get the right statement about the market position vi. Communicating effectively to the rest of the team members on what is the agenda of the organization     References Lyons, Mark, The Nonprofit Sector in Australia: A Fact Sheet. 2009 McGregor-Lowndes, M, An Examination of Tax Deductible Donations Made By Individual Australian Taxpayers in 2008 - 09, Working Paper No. CPNS 54, 2011. The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS), Queensland University of Technology Productivity Commission, Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector, 2010. Sargeant, Lee, ‘Benchmarking charity performance: returns from direct marketing in fundraising’, Journal of Nonprofi t and Public Sector Marketing, 16, 1/2, 77–94, 2006. Seymour, Kolsaker, ‘Aspects of market orientation of English and Welsh charities’, Journal of Nonprofi t and Public Sector Marketing, 16(1/2), 151–69, 2006. Till, Nowak, ‘Toward effective use of cause-related marketing alliances’, Journal of Product and Brand Management, 9(7), 472–84, 2000. Read More