Social changes refer to changes that happen over time affecting the behavioral patterns and accepted social norms and practices. Marketing as a practice has both a philosophical and practical definition with regards to its applicability in society.it can basically be defined as the activity and set of institutions for creating, communicating and delivery of offerings that have impacts on clients and society alike. By implementing social changes in the field of marketing, the benefits accrued from such endeavors are plentiful and more often end up having long-term social and economic effects. Examples of social changes that have been implemented in the field of marketing include the introduction of new marketing management philosophies, strategic planning, and utilization of the global marketing vision. The evolution of social marketing which is based on the fact that certain approaches need to be undertaken in order to have a positive impact on the society by changing and maintain some aspects of their conduct. Marketing is an important field of study as it plays an important role in society through the establishment of new career opportunities and its need in the day to day activities of a business.
One such social change that has had a significant impact in marketing is the use of strategic planning for competitive advantage in marketing. By use of strategic planning, the marketing department of an organization will be able to implement marketing platforms that combine the objectives of an organization, resources and how to successfully tap into new and evolved markets (Krstic & Becic, 2011). Criteria that should be met during strategic planning includes but are not limited to :Identifying strategic marketing alternatives that goes in line with the current marketing plan, development of an appropriate business statement, analysis of the current market situation, finding good sources that ensure competitive advantage, formulating good strategies with regards to current market trends and finally identifying techniques that will help in implementation, evaluation and control of this strategies. Through the execution of these policies that affected social changes in marketing, many businesses were able to tap into the niche marketing opportunities ensuring efficient communication and satisfaction of the customer (Slater, Hult, & Olson, 2010).
In all fields, the needs of ethics to determine what is legally right or wrong is important and these ethical principles are what stops organizations from running riot and doing harm. The new age of marketing and technological innovations have seen various social changes implemented that outline the ethical principles that should be followed when marketing a product. These principles are normally foisted by quasi-governmental agencies or independent institutions and failure to adhere to these principles warrants imposing of fines and penalties. The ethical aspects of the business are what determines its social responsibility towards society by considering the best interest for the company’s relation towards society. Important components to be considered with regards to the social responsibility of a business should account for the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic impacts it will have towards customer relation.
The important of understanding consumer behavior when implementing social changes in marketing cannot be understated. Only by understanding factors that help in consumer marketing can the policies implemented by business towards marketing work well. The emergence of the internet was another social change had mammoth effect in society (Chandy, 2014). The internet enabled intercontinental marketing where people in Europe could advertise to the African continent without the need of physical structures. This led to the new age of digital marketing that is now worth billions (Brown, 1993).
In any society, there is a need for development and in order to not be considered redundant and obsolete change must always be implemented. Society will always be prime for introduction of new social changes that will affect their psychoanalytical approach towards all aspects of life. For successful marketing, companies should always update themselves on new social trends that affect society perception of an idea or value (Taylor, 2000).
References
Brown, S. (1993). Postmodern Marketing?. European Journal Of Marketing, 27(4), 19-34.
Chandy, R. (2014). Making your social media strategy work. Business Strategy Review, 25(1), 77-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8616.2014.01035.x
Krstic, I. & Becic, S. (2011). Implementation of marketing strategy: Factor of competitive advantage. Marketing, 42(2), 118-126. http://dx.doi.org/10.5937/markt1102118k
Slater, S., Hult, G., & Olson, E. (2010). Factors influencing the relative importance of marketing strategy creativity and marketing strategy implementation effectiveness. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(4), 551-559. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2008.03.007
Taylor, R. (2000). Marketing strategies: gaining a competitive advantage through the use of emotion. Competitiveness Review, 10(2), 146-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eb046407
