Difference Between Commercial Marketing and Social marketing

Man is a social animal dwelling within the confines of a social set up and interacting with the other members of the very same social set-up in order to fulfill his needs be it basic or otherwise. Every activity carried out in society serves a certain need in exchange of a benefit in kind or monetary terms which is the universally accepted mode of exchange thus creating trade and marketing activities. With progress and advancement the comprehension of market and marketing has assumed new dimension and character. Marketing activities and several strategies related to it could be very well bifurcated into Commercial Marketing and Social Marketing.

Commercial Marketing has been in existence since time immemorial. The process was initially strictly understood as offering a product or service with intent to generate and maximize profit. Earlier, the commercial world lacked intense competition and hence the market being a sellers’ market ended up being monopolistic and exploitative to a large extent in monetary terms and otherwise. The marketing strategies adopted earlier were minimalistic as intensive marketing strategies were not required mainly because a ready market existed for every product produced. But with the advent of consumerism and high competition, each and every commercial organization belonging either to a product or service industry requires to continuously strategies not only grow but even to just stay afloat failing which there would be inevitable closure leading to consequential financial losses.

Social Marketing, as a concept and practice has arisen in the last few decades when it was realized by economists and business analysts that the same principles of marketing used in commercial marketing could be adopted to market an idea and influence attitudes and behavior. It could be clearly comprehended as being different from other areas of marketing with respect to the aims and objectives of the entrepreneur and his or her business organization. The purpose of social marketing is to make an impact on social behavior pattern and not generate profits for the marketer but to be beneficial for the society at large. Social Marketing is an extremely beneficial tool in health programs and disaster management.

Social Marketing creates a balance in society where commercial marketing has become extremely competitive and at times it is complementary to each other. One can also infer that both these forms of marketing co-exist and rely on each for their existence and functioning.

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