Marketing and Salesian Ministry:
importance, possibilities and risks
di Mariano Diotto
1. IL MARKETING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
1.1. Field of activity seen from point of view of marketing management
1.2 Reference target: youth and Church
1.3. From cultural marketing to international marketing
1.4. From international marketing to experiential marketing
1.5. From experiential marketing to social media marketing
2. POSSIBILE ACTION PLANS FOR MARKETING AND MINISTRY
2.1. Elements of marketing to introduce
2.2. Marketing plan
2.3. Naming
2.4. Web and social networks
a) Web site
b) Web reputation
c) Social network (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr, Fousquare)
3. CONCLUSIONS
Linking marketing and youth ministry might seem to be a chancy thing to do, but in reality it is not. In this brief essay we will try to demonstrate the importance and evolution of marketing and its strict correlation with Salesian ministry, the various possibilities for evaluating and publicising the many activites run by the Salesian Congregation.
1. MARKETING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Marketing is a complex science which in recent decades has developed and transformed drastically. When we usually think of marketing we connect it with how Philip Kotler histroically defined it is: “marketing is a branch of the economy concerned with a descriptive study of the market and the interaction of the marketwith business”. This definition has been surpassed now for some time, but it is what people think it is, and even more so within the Church arena.
Historically marketing has a negative connotation inasmuch as it is seen as a branch of knowledge that has to do with sales, so strictly tied to the commercial or economic world and as a consequence far from ministry and education typical of the Salesian Congregation. All that is overcome however for the fact that the same writer Philip Kotler when he re-edited his most famous work entitle “Marketing management” in 2007 defined marketing as “identifying and satisfying human and social needs”[1].
The American Marketing Association[2] defines marketing as “an organisational function and a set of prcesses aimed at creating, communicating and offering value to clients, as well as managing the relationship with the client that generates a benefit for the organisation and all its members”.[3] Here a new relationship is introduced between the historical side of marketing, more tied to the financial aspect, and management, more tied to the anthropological, social, psychological and ethical aspects.
So there is a new definition of marketing we believe is more correct for our field of analysis: marketing management. We could describe it as “the art and science of choice of market objectives, as well as acquisition, and maintaining growth in clientele through creation, distribution and communication of a superior value for the client”.[4] This becomes a more social definition where marketing is part of a process in which individuals and groups get what they need through creation, offering, free exchange of products or services of value.
Peter Drucker, the famous American economist, maintains the act of selling in marketing is but the tip of the iceberg inasmuch as the purpose would be “to make superfluous the sale of a product or service because the real purpose is to get to know and understand the client so thoroughly that the product-service is adapted to his needs in such a way that it sells itself”[5].
Trying to broadly adapt all this to a Salesian setting we could define marketing this way: “an action by which the work of education and passing on values of a Christian kind becomes so significant for the identity of a young person that it is the young person himself who asks for it”.
Companies in recent decades have reinvented themselves as the market, the public, the target audience, the media, the social and psycho-anthropological have changed. So we have a new form of internal organization of marketing and therefore it is no longer a simple office in which the duties of economic organization are carried out, but it has become the focal point, we might say "the mind", where they strategic decisions are made to allow the company to remain significant in the reference market.
Marketing guides the business's mindset, its mission and strategic plan, and can function exclusively if all the other organisational aspects of the business work together to the same end. That should also be happening in a Salesian ambit where all the different settings should be working to the one end: administration, education, ministry...
Reflecting on the significance of marketing, defining it, finding a way to put it into action could seem to run up against terminology and language that is far from the sensitivities in the Salesian Congregation. The communicative choice of this intervention has been to remain faithful to a scientific language and epistemology typical of the science itself. But in the pages that follow we have to combine this with our pastoral experience Salesian world.
1.1. The field of activity seen from the point of view of marketing management
Marketing management categorizes its areas of intervention into ten: goods, services, events, experiences, people, places, properties, organizations, information and ideas. Obviously not all companies develop or reflect on all ten classes for their commercial activity, and likewise the Salesian Congregation will focus on only a few of them, as we will endeavor to define and classify them.
Services are the principal activities of a religious, spiritual, educational kind which are typical of Salesian presence in the local area. This is what our founder Don Bosco asked of the Salesians and what the Church requires of the Congregation for our fidelity to the charism of the founder. It is expressed for example in the ecclesial service of management of parishes and oratories, through spiritual accompaniment of young people, or in the management of schools or universities where people are given the knowledge of a cultural and / or professional kind combined with human and spiritual growth ("upright citizens and good Christians"), or in the management of childrens' homes or places where they can recover from various addictions by rediscovering values young people have not had the chance to experience in their lives.
Events: all the “promotional activities” which happen regularly so that our target group (the young) know about the services we offer. Under this category we could list: our large gatherings (Youth festivals, meetings, vocation weeks, Face to face, ...). Each of these events, involving varying numbers of the target group, should be structured in such a way as to allow the service to be understood and significant for their lives.
Experiences: all the typical aspects of emotional marketing that come into play when the service is made more explicit. In the last decade emotional marketing has taken over as the experience that the target group has when it comes into contact with the 'business' or something which is strongly impressed on the individual and conditions future choices.
People: in the commercial area this is one of the major investments of marketing and concerns all activities, management or celebratory, that help create a “character”. Today all these famous characters have an agent or personal manager with them that deals with their relationship with media and the target group. Each character should become a “brando” and so be easily identified, recognised and acquired over time. At the level of the Church these days we can see how Pope Francis is, though maybe not consciously, working on this aspect of communicating himself s a consequence, the Church. Also Don Bosco invested much effort in identifying himself with the Oratory, to the point where even today society and secular individuals or even non-believers usually connect activity of young people in an oratory with the “character Don Bosco”. The Rector Major too has a role which has changed over the years and today's successor of Don Bosco, Fr Pascual Chávez Villanueva, expresses this aspect of marketing in an exemplary manner inasmuch as he has seen how to construct his very own way of guiding the Salesian Congregation.
This celebratory and managerial aspect of building up a character can be found in any Salesian house which remembers Salesians who lived and worked in that house or perfectly incarnated this ability to identify themselves.
Places are strategic and fundamental for any business disseminating a service; its success very often depends on them.
The spread of the Salesian Congregation seen from this point of view of marketing (also here maybe unconsciously) has been wisely cared for over the centuries. It is no accident that today the Salesians can be found in many of the most significant States in the world, either for their population, their relevance or their economic difficulties. Places also become a fundamental communicative element for consolidating, or seeing further spread of the brand; here, religious orders have always been very successful if you just think of cities where tourism revolves around churches, monasteries, museums and ancient libraries.
Properties and organizations: unquestionably the property element of establishments where production activities take place is fundamental to guaranteeing autonomy. Every business over time tends to become part of an area by creating its own infrastructure which allows it to be recognised. Globalization in recent decades, however, has undermined this fundamental basis for marketing leading entrepreneurs and companies to lessen the relevance of this by focusing on cost savings (for example businesses which have closed some of their historical foundations to set up new ones in countries where labour costs and easier real estate arrangements make things much better for them at decidedly lower prices). Similarly the organizational aspect is closely tied to the question of property.
Salesians have always followed this entrepreneurial line so that in most places around the world Salesian works are the property of the Congregation. As we know this also brings certain difficulties with it, such as when we feel we are no longer able to offer a significant level of service in a determined area and there is a problem with selling the estate to reposition ourselves in more significant areas for educating the young.
Ideas and information: these are the heart of marketing activity for any business. Ideas are the cultural baggage of the business and need to be implemented and modified over time. An idea that turned out to be successful ten years ago might be decidedly obsolete today. This means an inseparable link between the idea that lies behind the service offered and the activity of communicating it, also known as information. It often happens today that winning ideas communicated badly produce a negative effect, while barely creative or innovative ideas, but well communicated ones produce positive effects. Is unquestionably an area where the Salesian Congregation has to work most of all to remain significant in its mission of offering an educational, pastoral and religious service through new ideas.
1.2 Reference target: young people and the Church
These ten areas of activity in the Salesian world are necessarily aimed at a target of reference that can be divided into: a primary target which is the young; and a secondary target which is the Church (noty in order of importance but of a well-consolidated tradition).
Necessarily, in marketing activity one supposes that to obtain a service an element of exchange is needed. So the potential for exchange can exist five conditions need to be met:
1. two parties have to be involved;
2. each of the two needs to represent value for the other;
3. each party has to communicate and transfer the exchange value;
4. each has to be free to accept or refuse the exchange value;
5. both parties must see it as desirable or appropriate to engage in the exchange.
These five things might seem trivial and obvious but in reality they are often not taken into consideration. If we were take the example of the service of faith accompaniment as offered by the Congregation then we might see these points as follows:
1. there has to be at least one young person interested in accompaniment of his faith;
2. Salesians believe the young person is a person and as such needs to be helped to discover and value his faith but at the same time the young person has to see that the faith is a value and that he can undertake this discernment with the Salesians;
3. both parties have to communicate and transfer this desire to accompany and be accompanied in discernment of faith;
4. after this communication has been set up both must be free to continue or refuse the accompaniment (this condition is usually viewed poorly by the religious since he often sees himself as being the expression of this faith or belief in God and the young person who falls out with the religious, decides to change spiritual director or even parish);
5. both the Salesian and the young person has to want and understand that this accompaniment should help both to grow.
The element of exchange in the context of the Church is not well appreciated and often creates frustration or pastoral disappointment. Young people live in a more natural way and might be led to think: “if I don't like it, why should I continue?”
But since exchange is integral to marketing we need to reflect more on our ability to carry out these five points as best as we can.
Where exchange does not bring the desired results for a business and the public is not buying the business sets up a survey to understand the reasons for lack of success and plan new marketing activity. This rarely happens for the Church. The planning takes place, but review and re-planning becomes difficult because things are understood as a judgement on individuals and not just as a failed service.
This can all be taken up again for the secondary target, which is the Church: what does the Church expect of the Salesian Congregation? How does the Salesian Congregation respond to instances of faith and morals proposed by the Church?
1.3. From cultural marketing to international marketing
One of the aspects of marketing to be borne in mind when planning something is the cultural aspect. By culture we mean the capacity of the individual to understand the differences in perceptions or values and needs of society. This step seems increasingly more difficult since it implies, anthropological, psychological and social understanding on the part of the one creating marketing management strategies.
The cultural market is of itself a “place of exchange” where the expectations and needs of whoever is offering a cultural service encounter those of the one who is seeking, as already shown above. The cultural offer for young people today includes education, information (libraries, archives), cultural events (congresses, festivals, meetings), published products (books, magazines audiovisuals), radio and television products, multimedia, cultural production on the Web.
It may seem risky, but I believe it is very relevant, to connect this cultural aspects with the typical Salesian aspect: the educational, ethical, religious aspect obviously broadens the typical boundaries where culture is normally understood to operate within.
The facts speak clearly enough: there is a range of products and services of an educational, ethical and religious kind coming from people or places in competition with one another in the market place. It is a real market with a financial side of supply and demand, consumption and investment on the part of many individuals (for example anticlerical or pseudo-religious publications that earn revenue for a number of publishers; there are humanitarian and charitable organizations collecting donations; there are many sects and religious movements offering easily won happiness; there are so many non-profit groups working towards a more stable and healthy society). So the Salesian Congregation has seen the cultural market filled with many competitors who are financially, ideologically and strategically strong. So marketing techniques are needed to stay in the market and eventually bring about growth on behalf of one's situation. Relationship with the market becomes a basic element in the ability to find a place and productivity: this means bringing into play artistic, creative, commercial and distributive capacities to support marketing activity.
Since there are so many people in the market offering the same services why should young people choose what the Salesian Congregation is offering? Can we compete with others who are more significant financially or more advanced in communication terms?
Traditionally in the Salesian Congregation we have considered a kind of standard intervention for every market, drawing on the results of consolidated experience over time and their effectiveness. In fact this has led to greater impact in places still working in terms of traditional communication, but we see a loss of significance where social, anthropological and communications elements are more advanced or technologically developed.
The challenge lies in diversifying what we do country by country since marketing is based on satisfying the different needs or desires of the client, and since they are typically cultural elements, an international marketing operator (like the Salesian Congregation) should seek close contact with local traditions and customs.
Just by way of example we should mention some of the human interactions to be kept in mind: language, non-verbal communication, body language, time, use of space, use and understanding of colours and forms, aesthetics, social status... If any of these is not kept in mind there is a risk of a potential pitfall for a successful communication.
So it will be necessary:
1. to have empathy with the culture we want to intervene in trying to understand what is allowed and what is not; it means fitting in with the communications mood of the place;
2. to know and understand what are things to accept, respect, improve, get rid of;
3. to not assume that elements are interchangeable because a superficial resemblance may hide huge differences (think of black and white in different cultures or that young people today do not so much see things in terms of black or white but white and blue).
It all requires a long and careful research that cannot be left to a single effort by someone with good will alone.
It is a case of linking standardization of a service offered with adaptation.
Globalization, postulated by the American economist Theodore Levitt in 1983, has led us to think that it is inevitable that people will perceive things in a univocal, universal and standard way. This is not true. Large firms, while maintaining certain features of their products and services, know how to differentiate them in the various markets to the point where a new concept has developed known as “glocalization” which means common strategy at the level of positioning but tactical approaches are defined locally.
It is a case of carrying out global planning but strategic differentiation locally. This is also true for the Church. If the Congregation at strategic level outlines common planning elements for its services, individual provinces then need to define action plans aimed at their own target. This is what is commonly now called international marketing.
It is not all so simple and efforts to respond to the questions above are only possible approaches.
1.4. From international marketing to experiential marketing
A further development is need since it is essential to improve what has already been important in international marketing with what, since 2000 onwards, has been called experiential marketing. Joseph P. Pine and James Gillmore maintain that in today's market “experiencing services” is important beyond concrete activities which help a client benefit from a product or service, it will be necessary to involve them in experiences.
The new global economy at the beginning 2000 was in increasing crisis since there was an overabundance of supply and a lessening or stagnation of demand. Thus he need arose to stimulate demand through what became known as experiential marketing with the task of revitalising a product or service: “The new supply, exerience, happens every time a business intentionally uses services as a stage. If goods are interchangeable, tangible goods, intangible services are memorable experiences”[6].
Bernd Schmitt[7], a lecturer in international business at the Marketing Department at Columbia University in New York, defines emotional marketing as “The memorable experience the client needs to feel, to overcome his expectations, by anticipating unconscious desires and at the same time satisfying them”[8]. He maintains that there are five kinds of experiences he calls SEMs or Strategic Experiential modules[9]
These experiential modules are called "irrational purchase levers" and are:
· Sense experience: experiences tied to the five senses. Sight is stimulated through graphics and unusual colours; hearing through pleasant sounds; stimulate the tactile and olfactory senses. This happens when a young person during an event is involved not only at an intellectual and rational level but also emotionally. Sensory experience is the one usually not taken into account because it is considered of lesser value than the rational. This is not the case. At the time when a young person is involved through colours adapted to him or her and graphics close to the world of reference of a young person (e.g. the info-graphics in Salesian works that try to mediate content for the service in a graphical way, or school or oratory logos), or by using sounds that have an affective element to them (think of the difference in communication resulting from an amplified voice that always has a 'metallic' sound compared to the warmer sounds that result from simply working with higher or lower tones), or by creating welcoming places using natural rather than artificial materials (try sitting in a wooden seat rather than a plastic one, and the sense of warmth and welcome is certainly different).
· Feel experience: experiences involving the emotions and feelings of the target that result in someone feeling proud to be involved. Here we can recall the emotional and narrative style that Don Bosco made explicit in his oratories through the “good nights” for his own boys. In these older forms of storytelling[10] the emotional elements come from body language, tone of voice, careful choice of words.
· Think experience: Cognitive and creative types of experiences. These work on targets that are well-equipped culturally. It is predominant in the Salesian setting given the theological, philosophical formation of Salesians which leads inevitably to a more rational approach to the emotional, but losing out on the very feature that should characterise the emotional aspect. We tend to find this more in Salesians who have some kind of administrative role (rector, economer, councillor) since it seems to be the best way of passing on information, but it also happens to be precisely what alienates the sender (Salesian) from the receiver (young people) in that exchange.
· Act experience: experiences of a physical kind involving the target. These are historically typical of Salesian activity if we think of the playground where everything happens along these lines.
· Relate Experience: experiences that put the target (young people) in relationship with traditional groups of reference or social status. This kind of experience is on the wane in the Salesian setting where more attention is now given to the individual element of experience and losing out instead on what used be the characteristic element of Salesian spirituality: the group. In the Biographical Memoirs we often read that the boys at the Oratory even while having a group experience felt loved individually by Don Bosco. This aspect of the relationship is fundamental for young people for affirming their identity not only by putting them into relationship with the institutions (family, school, political) but especially with their peers in their many ways of communicating (like social networks for example).
After this brief analysis it becomes easier to understand how the experiential side of things is so fundamental for the target of reference of the Salesian Congregation: young people. The important thing is that these elements are implemented and then monitored since they are tied to the one who is proposing the activity and his human and social upbringing. We need to reflect more on this emotional part of experience.
May Salesians highlight the sentimental and emotional (think of the wind-up sessions at camp where this emotional side rides high), others prefer the intellectual (teachers for instance in school classrooms), others the physical (sports in school, oratory etc), and then there are those who work well with the group aspect.
The kind of experience usually less employed is the sensory kind since it is more difficult to plan for. But there is no doubt that giving young people sense experience is very important as it speaks a more direct kind of language without the need for cultural or intellectual mediation, and is therefore more memorable and has greater impact.
This experience can be achieved by using more colors, shapes, sounds and music, and tactile elements. Try to imagine an activity that relates to the emotional relationships that can develop between young people when it is presented using the above elements: for example, you could use colors to describe the various forms of affection or love or a soft or rough texture to try out other sensations. Certainly, the experience is more memorable than using words of a cerebral kind because it is an experience of emotions.
It is well established that the level of communication in sensory communication can take advantage of synaesthesia. By synesthesia we mean when sense stimulation induces the subject to automatically perceive a second experiential mode without needing precise stimulation for that. An example would be what psychologists call "color hearing". In fact, every language has a metaphorical use of terms referring to the universe of perception that matches colors to emotions: red with anger, green with jealousy, yellow with envy. These synaesthetic metaphors allow the construction of linguistic expressions that use terms referring to a sensory modality to describe another sensation. In fact in linguistics and rhetoric when it comes to synesthesia for describing or characterizing perceptual experience typical of a certain sensory channel, we use terms that refer to another channel: a sweet feeling, a painful vision, a high noise.
Aristotle had already ordered the senses in order of decreasing cognitive levels: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. This order is still the most widely used even in the experiences that famous brands offer to their youthful public, where the senses are mixed in different ways (here we could easily make reference to Abercrombie & Fitch clothing stores where a general darkness allows one to focus on the clothes displayed on shelves that are subjected to very strong light, and where the store is filled with sweet and poignant odours that almost intoxicate those who enter, and with rather warm temperatures to stimulate the aspect of physicality). This is well-established practice in concept stores of the big names at international level; you can enter a Nike Store anywhere in the world and always experience the same emotions and feelings.
We find something of this in Salesian houses (perhaps more so in Europe) where there is often a similar positioning of buildings: the church at the centre, and then off to both sides and usually in a rectangular scheme where there are the other buildings for various other activities, and a courtyard in the centre. Other than this, which we might term the structural format of the real estate it would be necessary to develop other elements that use all the senses (for example in many Salesian houses with an amplification system outside there might be music and other sounds offering a particular rhythm to the day). The sensory experience when a young person comes into the house should make his arrival memorable and help him to think back on the impact it made on him.
1.5. From experiential marketing to social media marketing
The experiences of young people today take place not only through presence or in face-to-face contact but many are mediated by the media. To achieve today's kind of sensory experience it is important to contact the target audience through social networks. These new media allow quick and immediate contact with the target and result in a new branch of marketing called: social media marketing.
Social media marketing has spread quickly since it costs much less than traditional marketing. It is the kind of activity using blogs, social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter), instruments for sharing photos or videos (Youtube, Pinterest, Instagram). The ease of entry into these new means of communication for companies and the target audience has resulted in a further element of success because they allow a direct relationship between company and customer that was not possible before. But while it can be a very successful form of communication, it can also result in errors with serious consequences which are amplified beyond the extent that might be the case normally.
2. POSSIBLE ACTION PLANS FOR MARKETING AND MINISTRY
After explaining marketing elements in their historical development and highlighting the various features, it is now important to establish and identify possible plans of action. As the Salesian Congregation has spread across the continents with their different customs, traditions, cultures and languages it would be almost impossible to outline everything that can be applied tout court. Here we will only attempt to give indications of possible implementations and methods which then need to be taken up wisely and prudently accrdoing to the situation.
2.1. Elements of marketing to introduce
Cultural, educational and religious offerings since the nineties have developed in different kinds of ways across the world. But all cultures have seen new economic or even non-profit factors introduced which compete with the educational and pastoral services of the Church or religious Congregations.
This has created a segmentation (or even fragmentation) of the culture market and also the target audience (here we take greater account of our primary target: young people) has significantly altered in terms of tastes, habits, underlying ways of thinking. It is thus now necessary to reposition what we Salesians have to offer in the various markets.
Here we can introduce some minimal elements of understanding of marketing mix. By marketing mix we mean the range of combinations and controllable variables in marketing that business employ to achieve their objectives. They are traditionally listed as the 4Ps: product, price, place or sales point, promotion (communication).[11] These would be, for the Salesians: the product, which is education to faith and work; the prices is what we ask for this service (free or paid for); the sales point is the Salesian house; communication or promotion is all the activities has for promoting its services (often happens by word of mouth).
In addition to these four elements, positioning within the market is of decisive importance, as there are many cultural offers in competition with each other and which our target group finds it hard to distinguish.
Positioning is the concrete expression of the mission of the institution and is developed through implementing a plan that supports how things are set in motion, maintained in the market, and implementated. This creates a distinct identity for both the target audience and the entity itself. The positioning takes different environmental, social, economic, political and cultural contexts into account and assessing the potential and limits of human and financial resources that are available. These planning deatils must then be translated into short-term, intermediate and final objectives.
It is therefore important that the mission of the institution is clear and well-defined within the "specialization" that characterizes it. Thus we see more and more the need for planning and organization that is dynamic and flexible, priced appropriately, with high professionalism and capacity for renewal.
The challenge is to identify the correct positioning of the services that the Salesians offer in the cultural market. Though the mission might be very clear, there is not always planning and professionalism linked to continuous renewal. Here we highlight some of the deficiencies in formation of Salesians that is aimed more at acquiring philosophical, theological and pastoral skills and neglects the professional and communications side which involves our target audience. It is metallurgy company which trains its employees recognise all the all possible materials existing in nature and their use, but not showing them how they have potential for the company and how they can be best used.
The positioning of the organization is also linked to the positioning of the product-service culture. To be well established in the market the organization should see to the following:
1. choosing factors that differentiate its service from others already in the market;
2. creating a product and service which responds to the target's needs;
3. supporting positioning with a correct marketing mix by focusing on the four key elements creatively and energetically;
4. identifying precise and effective marketing strategies;
5. finding consensus which involves other operators in the market and also the target group.
The marketing mix combination is usually what creates the most problems since the Congregation has usually worked more on its product (we can think of oratories, schools, primary right up to university, and which have responded so well to their circumstances), or on the price (taking into account what families can pay, or various activities in the oratory, and one interesting side of marketing analysis could be fundraising). We have also looked at our sales point (funds put aside to improve our buildings, for example), but it is the communications aspect that has been given less attention, especially given the overall reputation we have built up over 150 years since the Congregation was founded.
Given the significant change of circumstances, it is therefore necessary to work more clearly and effectively on the fourth element of the marketing mix: communication.
2.2. Marketing plan
To achieve effective and successful communication one needs a plan that takes into account what has already been described above, both the positive and the negative.
The marketing plan is a written document that foresees a first step as the identification of market (our market) needs and our properly Salesian elements which can respond to these.
It should include
objectives: desired results listed realistically, synthetically, precisely and in hierarchical fashion (e.g.: making sure the Salesian work is well known locally for its outstanding features);
analysis of the competition: who are the competitors where we are operating who are offering the same services;
SWOT analysis[12]: finding the strengths and weaknesses, and evaluating risks and opportunities;
targeting: is necessary to identify the precise target reference that allows one to stay in a specific intended market segment (for example, young people might be too generic a designation because they are too large a target in terms of lifestyle and psycho-sociological features, so it needs to be broken down into age, studies, social status, tastes and habits);
positioning: is the process of defining supply for a service already shown above, and its main aim is to place its services in the public mind in a manner distinct from the competition's;
strategy: is the set of actions required to achieve the objectives and is made up of the marketing mix already explained above. The strategy must be very detailed and precise as to manner, time, budget and how it will be evaluated.
The marketing plan should be connected with what we already know as the EPP in Salesian communities (Salesian educational and pastoral plan).
2.3. Naming
To effectively communicate a service in modern society, a determining factor seems to lie in the choice of a name to determine potential success. The choice of name is a communication factor.
Naming has the function of providing the target with a cognitive and emotive 'shorthand' for identifying the service which will satisfy desires, needs, requests. Naming (in our case it might be correct to say re-naming since we would be modifying already existing services) is primarily managing the brand, maybe resulting from a process whereby the strategy is to be creative and this creativity takes the shape of the chosen name.
This aspect of communication becomes important because it broadens what is already there. Let us consider the idea of the typical Salesian school in Italy, which might get called the "Salesian campus." This simple name change, however, brings with it an ability to communicate and introduces a different connotation because it draws on more international language which the target audience might prefer. Every Salesian educational community might have a school, playing fields, a bar or recreation area, which are the elements that make up the campus, but by calling it a 'campus' it takes on a different value than just calling it a 'school'.
It is not about just wildly changing the name of an activity or place that already carries great historical value but rethinking and refreshing the image of something that no longer works, or needs relaunching, or repositioning in the marketplace.
In fact, every name chosen for a service must be a clearly defined image which contains in itself, a story, a destiny and a meaning For this reason, the choice of a name is the result of strategic marketing that takes into account both the quality of the service and its use in the established context. A wrong or inappropriate choice can lead to ambiguity, and adversely affect the Salesian image locally, so it is a task to be carried out with care and to be entrusted to professionals.
The choice of name also implies a graphical element to introduce to the market, that speaks about it and make it recognizable. The choice of color, shape, movement can produce significant impact that can increase the strategic value of the chosen name.
Naming thus helps to establish identity and helps in a cultural through linguistic or iconic symbols.
2.4. Web and social networks
Undoubtedly, the advent of the internet and the emergence of social networks has changed the communication and understanding or placement of an entity extending it well beyond its physical presence.
Although much has been done in this area, the Salesian Congregation is largely in what is called Web 1.0. Almost all Salesian communites have a website, but for the majority of them it is static, not updated daily, graphically incorrect and with very poor usability. Very few are looking to their web reputation, which is the image of the Salesian world that emerges in the Web and from its presence in social networks.
Usually this lack of interest is attributed to technological difficulty. I believe that the Salesians (rectors of houses, those in charge of the oratory, catechists, principals or bursars) need not necessarily be experts in communication. Their role is the thinking part; but they may be surrounded by young people to whom they can entrust "creative and communicative" activities, since these young people are digital natives.[13]
There is a lot of do-it-yourself activity going on in this area which is not the best choice given the competition, creating a coordinated image of the organization: here too there is need for a strategic plan in order to position ourselves in this market.
I list here some of the things that need to be kept in mind in this area: web site, web reputation, social network.
a) Web site
The Web site is the organization's external image (and a much broader one that it has externally locally). If we paint the walls of the oratory because they are dirty or old we also have to "repaint" the website and not leave it untouched since the day it was first constructed.
The site:
1. must have an attractive graphic design, with colors and shapes related to the target we want to achieve (the institutional website of a Salesian house will be simple and elegant, while the oratorio will be colored and moving)
2. needs to be updated daily or weekly;
3. provides information on the activities carried out by the organization;
4. tells the story through photos, short articles or interviews, brief sentences;
5. the “book” where the history of the place is told (not enough just to put “who are we” or “our story”, but needs updating);
6. the target group needs a place to interact (blog, newsletter, mail), where the institution dialogues with the outside world.
So the site becomes a kind of digital chronicle of the house and needs to be entrusted to a confrere just as the paper chronicle would be.
b) Web reputation
The reputation of a person or institution develops more on the web thans in print or through "rumors." Everything that seems to be ignored by the Salesian world. Large companies are investing huge amounts of capital to monitor and improve their image in the web. Most of the time we do not know it, but the image of an institution can be destroyed on the web because the latter applies the "law of the jungle" and not that of the truth, so also untrue facts or actions can become real in the web and tarnish the 'institution.
There is a simple tool offered free by Google, called 'Alert' can send you a message each day or weekly, by email on any content whose key words you have indicated. A Salesian could have it for his name or surname, the school, official roles. So if false items appear it is at least possible to be aware of them and intervene.
c) Social networks
Undoubtedly the advent of social networks has led to a significant change in the modes of communication for young people. Being digital natives they have an innate ability to handle the grammar of new media. For adults instead these skills appear to be difficult to gain and understand as they combine these new media with the virtual and 'non-real'. This idea is largely overcome because the virtual is "very real" for young people (think also of cases of bullying perpetrated in social networks that now are being punished both in terms of law, but also by school administrators in schools). It has changed the way people interact and how the information is conveyed.[14]
The spread of social networks has led businesses to abandon an approach based only on service to concentrate more on interaction with the client. That has determined adopting communication strategies which take account of the evolution of new media. This is how social media marketing has come about, an approach focused more on the consumer than just on service. Thanks to the spread of social media every individual can be an influence factor for others, but we also have to avoid committing the opposite error, that of focusing over much on a single aspect. This kind of marketing marketing along with the 4 Ps traditional approach already discribed, is the 4Cs: content, connection, communications and community.
Content: in social networks as well as constant presence it is important to create a constant flow of attratctive content strictly tied to the needs and interests of the target group. This is the first aspect to be working on because it is what creates trust and credibility regarding the information provided.
Connection: the way of connecting with the public in question. Not all social networks are equal and not all are used in the same way. Each organization has to create a network of contacts which takes into consideration the people who “influence”, those with an important following who influence others through their behaviour, and enter into contact with these.
Communications: this is the most difficult area to do something about since it is not just about transmitting messages but monitoring feelings, impressions, and other considerations concerning the target group, differentiating information to bring to their attention. It is important to succeed in interacting in the shortest time possible since the connection is more emotional than rational and intellectual.
Community: there are groups or individuals who engage in discussion on various topics online. They can be groups that have already been set up or they can be created ex novo. Tolday a lot of information is gained by being part of a group or community who can help understand what's going on in the discussion (for example teachers discussing school or students who discuss the good and the bad of their education).
In the social network era an organization's success cannot ignore the 4Cs of social media marketing: creating the best possible content, seeking to connect with the target group, maintaining a model of communication which is appropriate and starting from the online community to which one belongs.
Social media
marketing is different from other types of marketing because it allows
organizations and clients to interact and comment on any kind of item; it is a
substantially new system for getting advice or feedback.
This is a novelty compared with traditional marketing which often relegates the
consumer to a mere spectator, but it requires a great ability to interpret the
data collected. Reactions of the target group to this innovation in marketing
is still an object of study and id a challenge when compared to more
traditional relationships, but it certainly reproduces on the Web, at an anthropological
and social level, what what was already happening a few years ago prior to the
advent of Web 2.0.
Social networks cost almost nothing and can largely be used by the Salesian Congregation. I will try to hypothesize some strategies to apply in the most important social networks: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr, Fousquare.
Unquestionably the most widespread social network in the world which can allow one to reach a massive target. Some uses could be:
For the Salesian: Facebook personal profile can be a place for evangelizing, but also for education. It is necessary to pay particular attention to its use so that “what is posted tells a story”. What the educator pays attention to in his usual setting needs to be the same in the social networks and what is written can be memorized and saved, even though he might cancel it. So special attention needs to be given to photos and state legislation in this regard, for e3xample permissions where photos of minors are concerned.
For the Salesian work: it is possible to create a place in Facebook where people can register when they come. It might have already been created by someone so it will be necessary to add information regarding the most important data. It is also important to create a group or fan page so different targets can be reached in smaller groups that can all be reached at the same time (for example the kids divided into groups by age, interest etc…).
In both cases, the platform makes it possible to receive a notification every time someone writes something and distinguish different news items to be made visible. The place and the fan page can be have work appointments, or allow sharing articles published in the official website, posting interesting articles, launching surveys or requests. The purpose of using Facebook for the Salesian should not be to replace face to face encounter but as a way to reach the target
Twitter is a
social network created in 2006. The name "Twitter" is derived from
the verb to tweet (meaning "chirp") but it is also the technical term
for any updates in the service.
The peculiarity of this service is that the tweet can only contain 140
characters. This has led to a capacity to synthesize what you have to
communicate, something that earlier social networks had not been able to do.
Short messages from Twitter can be labeled with the use of one or more hashtags that are concatenated words or combinations of words preceded by the pound sign (#). Tagging a message with a hashtag creates a hyperlink to all the recent posts mentioning the same hashtag. This allows you to build a set of views and ideas on a given topic.
Twitter is already widely used in high schools where students guided by the teachers can explain a viewpoint on a topic using a summary hashtag. On the pastoral level Twitter gives you the ability to create discussion topics, and be able to interact immediately. Many oratories and Salesian houses have their own profile officer and a hashtag that allows interaction with the target group. The possibility of using more than one hashtag mans that you can simultaneously reach increasingly specific groups.
Youtube
Youtube is a web platform that allows the sharing and viewing of videos. Its rapid development in partnership with major television companies has allowed a massive spread which little by little is supplanting the use of television itself. On Youtube you can find a lot of material that can be used in ministry since, we remind oursevles once again, the use of images, video or music is much more communicative than just spoken language.
Many Salesian houses have already opened their own channel on Youtube. The channel is a place where you can upload as many videos or animations as are created or produced. It is important that every Salesian work has its own video presentation that tells briefly (maximum five minutes) who the Salesians are, the life they lead, the peculiarity of their mission and the 'extra' education they offer.
Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr
Another
winning element of communication is the use of photographs that tell of
different experiences. In communication, what is visual can communicate more
than spoken language since the semiotic level allows a more connotative
identification with the product, more emotional and sentimental too, where
meanings usually go beyond the object itself (in this case the photo).
The advent of the mobile device (mobile phones, smartphones, tablets) has put
into the hands of young people a much greater chance of capturing the important
moments of their lives, something that before could only be saved by a camera.
Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr are applications or sites that permit sharing of photos and categorizing them by TAGs or hashtags. The narrative that can be achieved through the use of photographs has a very big potential and is still not well exploited.
Fousquare
In addition to telling a story through images, or words, young people also feel a need to come together and the social networks meet this need. Then there is also the aspect of gaming that is spreading more and more, and geolocation. In 2009 a social network came into existence with these features: Foursquare. Through the game mode users who own a mobile device may indicate their position and possibly write comments and post photos of the place. It would be important for every Salesian Community to enter their oratory and their school and then monitor what is published. As managers of the 'place' they can also offer promotions or facilitate entry for those who register through a checkin. The checkin is possible only when someone is within 50 meters from the place but it could lead young people who do not know the Salesians to at least see the place, where it is, and maybe eventaully attend.
3. CONCLUSIONS
At the end of this essay on the importance of the Salesian Congregation focusing on marketing to improve and diversify its educational and pastoral activity some explanations are needed:
1. entering into marketing and the thinking that lies behind it is not so simple and rather than make mistakes it might be better not to do so; the damage caused could be worse than other communications options;
2. marketing strategies suggested and presented for use here are not just for a single channel but should be tried in as many places as possible;
3. it takes time and effort to succeed;
4. especially in the beginning it is advisable to rely on professionals with the intent to learn and then later move independently, but update yourself constantly.
Some Salesian works are still tied to traditional marketing while others have already moved into social media marketing. This is not to follow the fashion of the moment but to reflect on what is most needed by the individual situation in order to be of greater witness to the faith and the spirit of education which Don Bosco asked of his members and the Congregation itself, so they could have much greater impact on their local area for the benefit of young people
I would like to propose, as a final key for reading all the above, what John Maeda, a video & graphic designer from MIT in Boston, says in his “The Laws of Simplicity”[15]: reduce, organize, time, learn, differences, context, emotion, trust, failure...
These simple words can guide the Salesian Congregation on its way over the next few years and inspire Salesians to try to put into practice what has been illustrated in this essay.
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Sites
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytelling
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis
www.marketingpower.com/
www.meetschmitt.com/
www.ninjamarketing.it/
[1] PHILIP KOTLER – KEVIN L. KELLER, Marketing management, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2007, 5
[2] http://www.marketingpower.com/
[3] PHILIP KOTLER – KEVIN L. KELLER, Marketing management, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2007, 5
[4] PHILIP KOTLER – KEVIN L. KELLER, Marketing management, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2007, 5
[5] PETER DRUCKER, Il management, l'individuo, la società, Franco Angeli, Milano 2001
[6] JOSEPH P. PINE E JAMES GILLMORE, The experience economy. Works is theatre and every business a stage, Hup, Boston 1999
[7] http://www.meetschmitt.com/
[8] BERND SCHMITT, Customer Experience Management: A Revolutionary Approach to Connecting with Your Customers, John Wiley & Sons Inc, Hoboken – New Jersey, 2003
[9] Bernd Schmitt, Experiential marketing: how to grow customers to sense, feel, think, act and relate to your company and brands, The Free Press, New York, 2006
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytelling
[11] PHILIP KOTLER – KEVIN L. KELLER, Marketing management, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2007
[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis
[13] PAOLO FERRI, Nativi digitali, Bruno Mondadori, Milano, 2011
[14] HENRY JENKIS, Culture partecipative e competenze digitali. Media education del il XXI secolo, Guerini e Associati, Milano, 2010
[15] JOHN MAEDA, The laws of simplicity. Design, technology, business, life, MIT Press, Cambridge, 2006