Originally published March 8, 2016 by Jim Mintz. Lightly edited for clarity, structure and digital readability.
Marketing and communications practitioners sometimes debate which discipline should take precedence within an organization. In public sector and non-profit organizations, that is usually the wrong question.
Communications builds and maintains relationships with stakeholders and publics. Strategic marketing helps an organization understand its audiences, develop relevant programs and services, position its value, and motivate action. Organizations that serve the public need both disciplines working together.
What Is the Difference Between Marketing and Communications?
Marketing and communications are related management functions, but they are not interchangeable.
- Marketing starts with audience needs and desired outcomes. It helps an organization decide what to offer, whom to serve, how to create value, how to reach specific audience segments and what action it wants people to take.
- Communications focuses on information, understanding, trust and relationships with stakeholders. It supports public information, media relations, community relations, issues management, stakeholder engagement and organizational reputation.
In business, marketing is often associated with generating sales and revenue. In public sector and non-profit organizations, marketing can also help increase program uptake, encourage beneficial behaviours, improve service delivery, attract support, strengthen engagement and make more effective use of limited resources.
Why the Terminology Can Be Confusing
The term communications is often used where organizations might once have used public relations. Over time, public relations fell out of favour in many public sector and non-profit settings, and communications became the more commonly used term.
This shift does not eliminate the distinction between communications and marketing. It does, however, explain why responsibilities may be organized differently from one organization to another.
Some organizations use only one of these functions. Others use both. Their relative prominence depends on the organization’s mandate, size, history, structure and operating environment.
The Growth of Marketing in the Public and Non-Profit Sectors
Marketing was historically associated with the private sector. Its application in government and non-profit organizations developed later, as organizations began to recognize that public value depends on more than communicating information.
A program may be worthwhile, but people still need to:
- know it exists;
- understand why it matters to them;
- be able and willing to access it;
- trust the organization delivering it; and
- take the action required for the program to achieve its intended result.
That is where strategic marketing adds value. It helps public sector and non-profit organizations move beyond simply issuing information and toward designing audience-centred approaches that support measurable outcomes.
Marketing vs. Communications at a Glance
| Dimension | Marketing | Communications |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Create value for defined audiences and encourage action | Build understanding, trust and productive stakeholder relationships |
| Starting question | What does the audience need, value or need to do? | What do stakeholders need to know, understand or discuss? |
| Primary focus | Audience insight, segmentation, positioning, exchange, uptake and behaviour | Information, engagement, reputation, issues and relationships |
| Common public and non-profit applications | Program uptake, service design, revenue generation, sponsorship, policy acceptance and social marketing for behaviour change | Public information, media relations, stakeholder engagement, community relations, issues management and crisis communication |
| Core audiences | Clients, service users, members, donors, supporters and priority population segments | Clients, service users, employees, media, partners, communities, decision-makers and other stakeholders |
| Typical measures | Uptake, participation, conversions, adoption, retention, behavioural outcomes and return on investment | Awareness, understanding, trust, sentiment, engagement, relationship quality and reputation |
| Organizational contribution | Helps shape what is offered and how action is encouraged | Helps create the relationships and operating environment required for success |
Why the Boundary Has Blurred
Digital and social media have made the relationship between marketing and communications more visible and more complex.
The same organizational channel may now be used to:
- share public information;
- answer questions;
- listen to stakeholders;
- build trust;
- promote a service or event;
- encourage participation;
- respond to emerging issues; and
- support behavioural or social outcomes.
This overlap does not mean the disciplines are the same. It means organizations need an integrated approach in which marketing and communications reinforce one another rather than compete for status or resources.
Why Communications Needs Marketing
Communications is essential in public sector and non-profit organizations. However, a communications plan developed without a broader marketing framework may focus too heavily on messages and channels while paying too little attention to audience insight, service design, segmentation, barriers, incentives and action.
Effective marketing starts with the audience and works back to the action the organization wants to support. It asks:
- Who specifically are we trying to reach?
- What matters to them?
- What barriers could prevent action?
- What alternatives or competing priorities are they facing?
- What can the organization change to make the desired action more relevant, accessible or worthwhile?
- How should communications support that strategy?
This is particularly important when audiences face information overload and have limited time, attention or trust. A message built around organizational priorities alone is unlikely to be enough. The offer, service, experience and communication must be meaningful from the audience’s perspective.
Public Sector and Non-Profit Organizations Face the Same Core Challenge
Regardless of sector, every organization must address three fundamental questions:
- How will people become aware that we exist?
- How will they understand why our work matters to them or their communities?
- How will we encourage the action required to achieve our mission or mandate?
A communications strategy can help answer the first two questions. Strategic marketing strengthens the organization’s ability to answer all three.
In non-profit settings, organizations compete for attention, support, donations, participation and partnerships. In public sector settings, programs and services compete with limited public attention, practical barriers, competing behaviours and sometimes distrust or indifference. In both contexts, good work does not automatically market itself.
How Strategic Marketing Strengthens Communications
Applying marketing principles within a communications function can help an organization:
- better understand its current position in the minds of priority audiences;
- segment audiences rather than relying on one approach for the general public;
- develop messages and services around audience needs and barriers;
- identify the action required for a program, service or initiative to succeed;
- differentiate its offer in a crowded environment;
- strengthen sponsorship and partnership opportunities by demonstrating mutual value;
- use limited communications resources more efficiently; and
- evaluate results based on outcomes, not only outputs or awareness.
Marketing is not simply advertising or promotion. It is a management discipline that can improve how an organization plans, delivers and communicates programs, services, policies and social initiatives.
Four Reasons Strategic Marketing Matters in Public Sector and Non-Profit Organizations
Strategic marketing can strengthen public sector and non-profit performance in four practical ways:
- It gives clients and audiences a meaningful role in program and service development.
Decisions are grounded in what people need, experience and value rather than being based only on internal assumptions. - It focuses attention on action and outcomes, not awareness alone.
Awareness may be necessary, but it is rarely the final result an organization needs. - It supports better use of limited resources through segmentation.
Organizations can tailor approaches to priority audiences instead of attempting to reach everyone in the same way. - It broadens planning beyond promotion.
Considering the marketing mix of product, price, place and promotion encourages organizations to examine the full audience experience, including the service or offer itself, barriers to participation, access and communications.
Integrating Marketing and Communications in Practice
Leaders should not force marketing and communications into competing silos. They should integrate the two functions around the organization’s mandate and intended outcomes.
A practical integrated approach includes:
- Define the organizational outcome. Identify the program, service, policy or mission result that matters.
- Understand priority audiences and stakeholders. Use research and insight to identify needs, barriers, motivations and relationships.
- Develop the offer or intervention. Ensure the program, service or requested action provides credible value to the intended audience.
- Plan communications strategically. Select messages, channels and engagement approaches that support audience needs and organizational outcomes.
- Measure what changed. Assess not only reach and awareness, but also uptake, participation, trust, behaviour or other intended results.
The strongest organizations recognize that communications helps establish the trust and relationships required for action, while marketing helps ensure the requested action and organizational offer are relevant, accessible and compelling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is marketing appropriate for government and non-profit organizations?
Yes. Marketing in these sectors is not limited to selling products or generating revenue. It can support program uptake, service access, public engagement, social marketing for behaviour change, membership growth, donations, sponsorship and better audience-centred decision-making.
Is communications the same as public relations?
The terms often overlap. Many public sector and non-profit organizations use communications as the broader or more acceptable term for responsibilities historically associated with public relations, including media relations, stakeholder relations, public information and issues management.
Can an organization rely on communications without a marketing strategy?
It can, but it risks concentrating on messages and channels without adequately addressing audience needs, barriers, segmentation, value or desired action. A strategic marketing framework can make communications more relevant and outcome-focused.
Which function should lead in a public sector or non-profit organization?
The answer depends on the mandate and objective. Communications may be central where trust, transparency and relationships are the immediate concern. Marketing becomes critical where an organization needs audience insight, program uptake, participation, support or behaviour change. In many cases, neither should operate alone.
Conclusion
Public sector and non-profit organizations operate under increasing pressure to deliver better programs and services, demonstrate results and work within constrained resources. Communications remains essential to public understanding, trust and stakeholder relationships. Strategic marketing adds the audience insight, segmentation, value design and outcome focus required to turn good intentions into effective action.
Marketers need communications, and communicators need marketing. The organizations that integrate both disciplines are better positioned to inform, engage and serve the people and communities they exist to support.
About the Author
Jim Mintz (1945–2019) was Managing Partner of the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing (CEPSM) and a recognized contributor to the practice of public sector and non-profit marketing.
About CEPSM
The Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing (CEPSM) provides strategic marketing and communications consulting and training developed specifically for governments, non-profits and associations.
