Differences Between Product, Service, and Social Marketing, Research Paper Example

A successful company or business should have efficient and appropriate marketing strategies and techniques. Marketing is a process essential for any other business, as a marketing activity involves a process for developing communication, delivery channels, and exchange of products and services between the company and its customers. Marketing as a managerial process, include identification of products, determining its prices, selecting appropriate channel and identification of possible promotional strategy. Marketing deals with products, services and ideas and attitudes, thus product marketing, service marketing and social marketing.

Product marketing is a form of marketing whose main emphasis and focus is selling of products. This form of marketing ensures that products are clearly defined and their prescription into the target market accomplished (Kotler et al, 2002, p.120). Service marketing is a form of marketing, which entails selling of services; emphasis laid on service delivery. Service marketing differs with product marketing in that, its goal and aim, is to find individuals to carry out the business with the company; product marketing has a main goal of getting customers purchase the product. Service marketing different from product marketing uses different marketing approaches. Service marketing utilizes approaches, which tend to persuade individuals to offer a service unlike the later, which persuade customers to buy the product.

Social marketing involves using ideas with the aim of achieving behavioral goals and behavior modification, with the aim of instilling morals in the society and meeting behavioral goals. Its aim is promoting feeling and ethical behavior. Social marketing differ from product and service marketing in that social marketing aims at influencing societal behavior and morals rather than marketing its products and services.

Social marketing has been used in health care facilities the main aim is for the realization of human safety in the workplace and reduction of evils in health institutions, and achieved through behavior modification (Joshi & Rakesh, 2005, p.88).. Both product and service marketing have put focus in health care primarily on choice and quality of care to its customers.

References

Kotler, K., Philip, M., Roberto, J., & Nancy L. (2002). Social Marketing: Improving the Quality of Life. New York, NY: SAGE.

Joshi, H., & Rakesh, M. (2005). International Marketing. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.