Can you ‘market’ free services?
When you hear the word ‘marketing,’ what do you think of?
Based on the reactions I’ve had when introducing myself with ‘marketing’ in my job title to colleagues in charities and public services, there are some really common misconceptions like:
Marketing is about selling things (So there’s no place for it in services where we help people for free)
Marketing is basically lies and manipulation (So, you know, ew)
Marketing is all flashy gimmicks and showing off (Not for us, we do real work and actually help people)
So of course, like any good marketer, I decided to rebrand and we ended up calling it “Margareting”
Not really! But I do think there’s a way to do marketing that does work for free services, does align with our values and does have impact.
Or actually, that the kind of marketing we think of as manipulative and flashy is people doing it badly!
When I studied marketing at university, one of my textbooks opened with this introduction:
“You will have some sort of idea what marketing is, since you are, after all, exposed to marketing in some form every day. Every time you buy or use a product, go window shopping, see an advertising hoarding, watch an advertisement, listen to friends telling you about a wonderful new product they’ve tried… you are reaping the benefits (or being a victim) of marketing activities. When marketing’s outputs are so familiar, it’s easy to take it for granted and to judge and define it too narrowly by what you see close to home. It is a mistake, however, to dismiss marketing as ‘just advertising’ or ‘just selling’ or ‘making people buy things they don’t really want’.
What this book wants to show you is that marketing does, in fact, cover a very wide range of absolutely essential business activities that bring you the products you do want, when you want them, where you want them, but at prices you can afford, and with all the information you need to make informed and satisfying consumer choices”
(Essentials of Marketing, Brassington & Pettit)
It’s hard to argue we’re against the idea of helping people get the support they want, when they want it, where they want it, at prices they can afford (or free!) and with all the information they need to make informed and satisfying choices, isn’t it?
But I’ll be honest, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the community sector to be wary of marketing. There are challenges we face in public services and non-profits that simply wouldn’t exist without businesses convincing people to act against their own best interests.
And when I decided to study marketing I did feel a bit like I was going undercover to learn how to use what I thought were evil, manipulative marketing techniques for our positive cause. As I collected my course timetable I had fears that I’d be ‘found out’ (my extensive wardrobe of cardigans and charity-shop dresses would be a huge giveaway that I lacked respect for branding and the latest trends) or worse, I’d become indoctrinated to the dark side and start wanting to lie to people and take all their money.
But I discovered that real marketing - good marketing, anyway - wasn’t like the perceptions I had. I learned a lot about how people make decisions, how people look for information and weigh up their choices, what helps, and what gets in the way. I often joke I’ve got a masters degree in leaflets, but actually it was mostly psychology (and an alarming amount of maths).
Which makes sense when you see the field of Social Marketing (not to be confused with Social Media Marketing) is focussed around behaviour change - using marketing techniques and theories to encourage more positive choices, either for people’s individual health and wellbeing, for communities or for the world in general.
You’ve probably seen examples like the Think! Road safety campaign, Time to Change for mental health and Change4Life tackling obesity.
But what about marketing individual community services?
One of the reasons I started the Margareting Academy is that I felt like there weren't enough resources on this topic that were tailored for our kind of work. The focus is too often on profit. (that, or to actually implement the tips you'd need a marketing department that's more than just you wearing this hat on a Tuesday afternoon between stints in the IT department hat and the HR hat)
But I think they can work for non-profit-making services with a few translations, so how about this?
Marketing to Margareting Dictionary
The Market / Competitors = People’s other options
Digby says it’s good to have lots of options to choose from
I’ve heard people say there’s no need for marketing in community services because there isn’t a market. If yours is the only service in the area, there aren’t any competitors, there’s no choice to influence… you don’t need marketing, just comms, right? Just tell people where to find you, and they’ll queue up, sure they will.
Only there’s always at least one other option, isn’t there? People can use your service yes, but also they can just… not.
And actually these days, there are more and more options available via apps and technology, especially with the rise of purpose-driven marketing where brands want to be seen to do good and entrepreneurs increasingly mixing profit with purpose through social enterprises. Not that this is a bad thing - that’s why the word “competitor” doesn’t really fit here. It’s good for people to have options, but my point is you should want to know about them.
Once you know what those other options are, you can do one of two things:
Compete - with the aim that people choose your service instead of theirs, or doing nothing
Reposition - with the aim of differentiating your service from theirs, avoiding duplication and giving people a meaningful choice
Product = What you offer
“Product” is one of the 4Ps in the famous marketing mix, and generally people use the word “product” to mean a tangible item you can hold in your hand.
So doesn’t seem very relevant to what we do in the public and voluntary sector - we tend to do “services” which generally means activities someone does for you.
There is actually a whole branch of marketing focussed on marketing services that’s worth digging into. But most of the time when you’re reading about marketing theory or practice, the word “Product” usually just means whatever you’re offering.
It’s about the difference you make. What’s the overall package of support people get from you? What’s the way you’re making a difference for people? What do people experience when they interact with you? That’s your ‘product’.
Financial Cost / Price = Emotional, Practical Cost / Price
The Cone of Shame. Costs only your dignity.
Just because you're not charging money for the service, doesn't mean people aren't giving anything up in exchange.
Using any service is going to take people's time at least, and it's important for the service to be worth that time. That’s our version of value - it may not be money, but what people give up still needs to be worth what they gain from you.
If it’s not worth it, if that price is too high for the value you’re offering, people won’t use your service (or if they have to, will do so begrudgingly).
And sometimes what people give up is more than money. Sometimes it’s a sense of dignity, privacy, comfort. What does it take for someone who prides themself on being independent to ask for help?
Customer loyalty / Customer retention = Customer Success
Commercial businesses aim to get people coming back to buy more as often as possible, because it's more cost-effective to entice an existing customer to return than to try to reach new customers.
But in community services we're usually aiming to help people resolve, or recover from, a challenge in their life. In some cases the ultimate measure of success might be that they never need to come back.
But it's the same theory, that it's good business sense to meet people's needs and provide a great experience, just a different outcome. Or actually, technically it’s the same outcome - that people trust and value your service and will choose you the next time the same need arises (only in our case, fingers crossed, it won’t).
I hope that’s a helpful introduction to the murky world of marketing. And if you’re still not convinced, at least you’re in the right place to try Margareting instead! :)
