Reading: How Organizations Use Marketing
Although we often think of marketing in the context of for-profit businesses and product sales, a wide variety of organizations use marketing to achieve their goals.
For-Profit Marketing Versus Nonprofit Marketing
For-profit organizations are typically privately owned or publicly traded companies with a primary purpose of earning money for their owners. Nonprofit organizations also earn money, but their primary purpose is to use these funds for a specific charitable purpose. Types of nonprofit organizations that may engage in marketing include schools and colleges, hospitals, museums, charitable organizations, and churches, among others.
As the terms denote, the difference between for-profit and nonprofit marketing is in the organization’s primary objective. For-profit marketers measure success in terms of profitability and their ability to pay dividends or pay back loans. Continued existence depends on the level of profits they can generate. The primary focus of marketing is usually to sell products, services, experiences or ideas to target customers and to make these customer relationships as profitable as possible.
Nonprofit institutions exist to benefit a stated mission or purpose, regardless of whether profits are achieved. Owing to their socially beneficial purpose, nonprofit organizations are subject to an entirely different set of laws—notably tax laws. While they are allowed to generate profits, they must use these funds in specific, philanthropic ways in order to maintain their nonprofit status. Marketing efforts focus on activities that promote the organization’s mission. A school, college, or university might use marketing to attract students, improve academic reputation, and solicit donations from alumni. A museum or nonprofit theater company uses marketing to attract visitors, ticket sales, event sponsors, and philanthropic donations. Marketing for nonprofit hospitals usually focuses on attracting patients and strengthening reputation as a high quality health care provider.
Business-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business Marketing
In marketing, it’s important to understand who a product is being sold to—an individual consumer or another business. This helps companies choose the right strategies and tools to reach their audience effectively.
A consumer is the person who actually uses the product, while a customer is the person or business who buys it. Sometimes, these are the same person. For example, if you buy a snack bar at a corner store and eat it, you are both the customer and the consumer. But sometimes they are different. Imagine the snack bar was made by a local health-food company. You bought it from the store, not directly from the company. In this case, the store owner is the company’s customer, while you are simply the consumer.
A B2B Emphasis
Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing focuses on selling to other companies or institutions. These products or services are usually needed to operate a business or are used to create other goods. For example, a software company might sell accounting tools to a law firm, or a wholesale bakery might supply bread to a chain of cafés. In B2B marketing, relationship-building is key. Rather than advertising to the general public, B2B marketers often use personal selling, attend trade shows, and build long-term partnerships with decision-makers. These transactions are usually larger, more complex, and involve negotiating things like price, delivery timelines, and custom features.
A B2C Emphasis
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) marketing focuses on selling directly to people who will use the product. These marketers aim to reach large audiences and generate interest in everyday goods like clothing, food, or electronics. B2C marketing is everywhere—in social media ads, online videos, product packaging, or major TV commercials like those shown during the Super Bowl or Hockey Night in Canada. Companies like McDonald’s, Apple, or Tim Hortons use B2C strategies to attract everyday shoppers and drive brand loyalty. Because B2C marketing often targets a broad public audience, it tends to rely on emotion, branding, and high visibility.
Both types of marketing use the same basic tools—promotion, pricing, and product development—but they apply them differently depending on who the customer is. Understanding whether you’re marketing to a business or a consumer helps define how to communicate, what to emphasize, and where to focus your efforts.
Creation notes: Chat GPT was used to update and shorten text to include current examples.
