Marketing and branding

Marketing concepts can be applied to voluntary organisations, whether it is for campaigning, increasing membership or fundraising.  Marketing and branding should be integral to the strategy of the organisation because your marketing should reflect what your organisation does differently and how it adds value.  So when conducting a SWOT analysis (link to section 6), think about it in marketing terms as well.

How you present yourselves may also dictate your success at raising funds or generating earned income!

The 4 Ps - Price, Place, Promotion, Product.

This is part of your marketing mix - these elements all have their part to play, but which is most important in your activity? They usually have to be translated in the voluntary world e.g. Promotion might mean how do service users get to hear about your service (Product) or how do you lobby your local council to provide initial funding. Place is where you provide the service/product - a high street location will make your marketing task a lot different from being in a shed out of town! Price often translates into cost with voluntary organisations, but perhaps could include non-financial transactions (e.g. volunteer time) when selling the product to a funder.

For Services, there are 3 more Ps: People (attitude and behaviour of staff or volunteers), Process (how the service is delivered), Physical evidence (of quality). 2 more have been suggested: Philosophy (particularly for charities) and Perception.

Communicating the issues

Communication skills are a much under-rated area, whether used for managing staff or getting a response from the public. Knowing your intended audience and how to reach them is important, but so is remembering that others outside those you are targeting are likely to come across what you are saying too.

Useful links

VolResource – Marketing for Voluntary Organisations

VolResource - Getting you message across (or: Dealing with media and PR)

Southampton Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership – Marketing your service

CharityComms is for anyone whose communications role is integral to the success of their charity. CharityComms seeks to support communications staff and volunteers working in large and small charities, non-governmental organisations and other relevant areas in the UK.

Marketing Your Social Enterprise - London Social Enterprise Network Members - £5.00
The purpose of this guide is to give you an insight into what marketing is, why you must consider it as part of your organisational planning and how you can achieve maximum results for modest efforts

Data protection considerations [pdf]

Return to social enterprise menu

Return to useful links menu