Marketing Research for Non-profit, Community and Creative Organizations

Bonita Kolb

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2008
• ISBN:
  9781136379598
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Commerce Général

'Marketing Research for Non-profit, Community and Creative Organizations' is a comprehensive guide to conducting research methods within the non-profit sector. Highly practical, the purpose of the book is two-fold. Firstly, it aims to educate the readers on how research can be utilized to help their organization reach its goals. Secondly, it shows how to conduct different methods of research, including focus groups, interviews, projective techniques, observations and surveys, and how to use the findings of these to improve products, target customers and develop effective promotions.Concise and well-structured, the text provides a step-by-step process to help the reader understand and apply the various research methodologies.'Marketing Research for Non-profit, Community and Creative Organizations' is designed for students and will also be invaluable for managers working within non-profit or creative environments.

Objectives

• Explain how non-profit and community organizations can benefit by using marketing research
• Clarify misunderstandings mission-centred organizations often have about marketing
• Define marketing and marketing research
• Explain the relationship between data, information and knowledge
• Discuss cultural and ethical considerations when conducting research

Introduction

People who manage non-profit and community organizations may have many misconceptions about marketing research. While having adopted some marketing techniques they may still have a negative view of marketing research believing it is only appropriate for businesses. This belief may be because they are unaware of the many marketing research methods that can be used by non-profit and community organizations. This unawareness is unfortunate, as adopting techniques appropriate for their organization would increase the likelihood of fulfilling their mission.

Organizations need to understand the marketing research process and how it can be adapted to meet their needs. Surveys are only one research method organizations can use along with focus groups, interviews, intercept interviews, projective techniques and observation. In addition, organizations need to appreciate the ethical and cultural considerations involved in conducting marketing research.

The benefits of conducting marketing research

Non-profit and community organizations are called mission centred because they are formed as the result of a desire to improve society. The organization’s central purpose is to fill a need that cannot or will not be met by the for profit marketplace. While profit is not the main motivation of non-profit and community organizations they still must remain fiscally solvent to remain in operation. This is one reason many of these organizations have adopted marketing practices.

Non-profit and community organizations can be in many different fields including healthcare, the arts, social change, community development, economic revitalization and faith-based charities. All of these organizations were founded with the intention of providing assistance or promoting ideas that will improve the lives of individuals or society as a whole. Table 1.1 is from the US Tax Code and provides some indication of the wide range of activities in which such organizations engage.

Table 1.1 Nonprofit organizations and their purpose

Tax code	Description of organization	General nature of activities
501(c)2	Religious, educational, charitable. scientific, literary, testing for public safety, amateur sports, prevention of cruelty to animals and children	Activities of nature implied by description of class of organization
501(c)4	Civic leagues, social welfare organizations, local associations of employees	Promotion of community welfare. charitable, educational or recreational activities
501(c) 5	Labor, agricultural and horticultural associations	Educational or instructive, the purpose being to improve conditions of work and to improve products and efficiency
501(c)6	Business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate boards	Improvement of business conditions for one or more types of business
501(c)7	Social and recreation clubs	Pleasure, recreation, social activities

The mission of the non-profit and community organization may be to fill a need by providing a service, a tangible good or promoting an idea. For example, the mission of an organization formed to improve public health would provide healthcare services for low-income people. The organization may also provide a tangible good by providing low-cost humidifiers for families with children with asthma. Or, rather than providing a service or good directly to a client, the organization’s mission may be to influence society by promoting the idea of the importance of preventive healthcare.

Unfortunately, too often in the past non-profit and community organizations believed that to successfully meet their mission only good intentions were needed. However, a change in this way of thinking has resulted in mission-centred organizations understanding that they need to market what they have to offer to their potential clients or customers. To do so they have adopted marketing techniques such as using promotion to increase their client numbers and to design effective ad campaigns. These marketing techniques have been successfully used to reach out to those they want to serve (Hanson, 2001).

However, it is difficult to use marketing techniques successfully if the organization does not first understand their clients’ needs. For example, the organization cannot design an effective ad campaign without knowing what words or images best communicate its message. Therefore, it is now time for non-profit and community organizations to understand how the process and methods of marketing research can be used to help discover the needs of those they wish to serve and then communicate their mission to current and potential clients.

EVERYONE NEEDS RESEARCH!

Why do small businesses and other types of organizations believe that marketing research is only for large corporations? Here are some myths and the response:

‘I’m already doing enough research’ - but is the data the right data?

‘Research is only for big decisions’ - research for small decisions is still useful

‘I’ll lose control’ - research does not need to be turned over to specialists

‘Market research is survey research’ - there is much more to research than surveys!

‘Market research is too expensive’ - not necessarily

‘Most research is a waste’ - not if properly planned

Source: Andreasen (2002).

Question to consider: What argument would our board make against conducting marketing research?

Uses of marketing research

Mission-centred organizations must now consider adopting the research techniques used by marketing researchers. However, a marketing research effort can only be successful if mission-centred organizations first accept the fact that only their clients know what they need and want. After all there is no reason to conduct marketing research if the organization continues to insist that they already know what is best for the client. The purpose of marketing research is to help the organization learn from the potential client or customer how their needs and wants can be best be served.

Marketing is often described as consisting of the four ‘P’s’ of price, product, place and promotion. Any business or organization must provide a product, whether a good, service or idea, that is needed by consumers. They must also price this product correctly and provide it at a location convenient to the consumer. Finally the information on the product, its price and location must be promoted using effective words and images. The purpose of marketing research is to provide the information the organization needs to determine the correct product, price, place and promotion that will motivate the potential customer. In addition, a company or organization can research the consumer’s opinions and ideas and competitor actions. These issues are summarized in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2 Uses of marketing research

Issue	Purpose	Question
Product	Discover benefits provided to consumers	Why do clients use our services? How can our services be improved?
Price	Choosing price level	Should we charge for our services? What amount are our clients willing to pay?
Place	Effect of location on clients	Where is the most convenient location to provide our services? How can our location be improved?
Promotion	Effectiveness of promotion	Does our promotion motivate action? What media will reach our audience?
Consumer	Understanding our consumer	Who is the main user of our services? What non-users can we reach?
Competitor	Understanding our competitors	Why do clients use our competitor? What competitor actions could we add?

Product: How can marketing research help non-profit and community organizations with product issues? Mission-centred organizations often believe that they should not change their product as it was developed with a specific mission in mind. However, the organization should understand that while the core product may not change, the benefits the product provides can and should be adapted to what their current and potential clients might want. For example, through research, an organization helping battered women might find that besides shelter, the women need help in handling finances so that they can remain independent.

Price: Many non-profit and community organizations would not think about researching price, as their product, whether good, service or idea, is provided at no cost. However, even if the product is free there are still reasons to research price. The organization may find that the potential client is both able and willing to pay for a service that is currently being provided at no cost. If the organization received money from clients, even if only a small amount, it would mean that the organization would be less reliant on fundraising. If the organization already charges for a service, marketing research can help to determine the amount the client can and is willing to pay. Furthermore research may find that different groups of customers have different abilities and willingness to pay which means that the organization can develop pricing which meets each group’s n...