Social Marketing in Mexico

Social Marketing is "(...) the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society" This definition belongs to Alan Andreasen and was published in his book Marketing Social Change.

Social marketing is one that uses strategies that are aimed at the emotional part of the consumer where the objective rather than selling a product is to convey a concept of support or to help a social cause.

Corporate social responsibility and its subsequent dissemination through marketing are gaining more and more ground in Mexico, according to Klaus German Phinder, director of Promotora Acción Social Empresarial (Accse).

According to the specialist, there are two types of social marketing:

• Corporate, which is where the company shows what it does in terms of both internal and external practices
• Marketing with a cause, in which the firm allocates part of the sale of its products or services to a specific social cause

Corporate social marketing is the way in which a company:

• Broadcasts its message
• Collaborates with the environment, its workers, the community
• Respects the ethics of its business regarding its customers and suppliers

Companies that decided to have a social marketing program in Mexico can opt for an ISO 26000 (Social Responsibility) certification, which is a guide that establishes the Social Responsibility guidelines to follow, set by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

The objective of social marketing is to generate greater loyalty of consumers or suppliers towards the company. Social marketing benefits a company since having a better image can attract more customers and thus, the company will sell more and more.

Social marketing can and should be supported by web marketing in order to spread the social commitment that the company has decided to support, as well as to communicate how and with what results it's doing it.