Social Marketing

About This Book 3
The Single Most Important Thing
If you take only one thing from this book, let it be this: LISTEN. Listen to the people whose
behavior you want to change.
This is the single most important thing, because whatever people do – even when it’s something
that seems crazy to you – they have their reasons. The reasons may not be rational.
People may not even know what their reasons are. Rarely, however, are they waiting for you
– or any other marketer – to tell them what to do. Even then, if you can get their attention
long enough to tell them either the risks they face or the wonderful benefits of something like
efficient lighting, they still may not change their behavior. They may even know that the more
efficient light bulb will save them a lot of money. They may listen when you tell them it will
help the environment. And they still might just go out to the store and buy a bunch of big, ugly,
energy-wasting light bulbs. Rest assured, they have their reasons.
This book is about understanding people’s reasons for behavior, and using that understanding
to change behavior through social marketing. The social marketing discipline is based on the
idea that all marketing is an exchange, if you want people to change their behavior, you have
to offer them something – security, information, an image, a feeling of belonging, whatever it
takes. To know what to offer your audience, you need to listen to them, in order to understand
what they want – not just what you think they need.
Social Marketing Behavior A Practical Resource for Social Change Professionals