Social Marketing
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Research 23<br />
What is Behavior?<br />
To understand this better, let’s define more precisely observable actions, target audiences,<br />
and specific conditions. For help in defining the behavior for your project, see the worksheet<br />
Defining Behavior, in the <strong>Social</strong> <strong>Marketing</strong> Tools section of this book.<br />
Observable Actions<br />
Let’s start with the observable action. Surprisingly, this is often where many social marketers<br />
make their first mistake. We will use our example from above.<br />
Example: When going to the grocery store, women ages 18 to 24 who have moved into a new<br />
home will buy CFLs for their outdoor lights.<br />
What’s the observable action here? Take a guess. Write it down. Then, try the exercise in the<br />
box below.<br />
Perhaps when you first tried to identify the observable action, you identified raising awareness<br />
as the behavior. Indeed, many campaigns are designed to raise awareness. What does this<br />
mean? Are awareness campaigns marketing or not? The answer is no, they are not marketing<br />
campaigns unless awareness is deliberately tied to a specific behavior. <strong>Marketing</strong> is always<br />
about behavior. Commercial marketing is about purchase behavior. So too, social marketing is<br />
about what people do, not what they know.<br />
Exercise: Defining Observable Actions<br />
Q: Which of the following phrases describe<br />
an action?<br />
I want my audience to:<br />
1. Be aware of…<br />
2. Understand the importance of…<br />
3. Support the idea of…<br />
4. Call a Hot Line Number.<br />
5. Join a group.<br />
6. Buy a CFL.<br />
7. Believe that energy efficiency is important…<br />
8. Tell a friend that energy efficiency<br />
is important…<br />
9. Know that X number of dollars can be<br />
saved if one uses a CFL.<br />
10. Believe that an ad is true.<br />
A: Numbers 4, 5, 6, and 8 are behaviors. Number<br />
3 might be a behavior; it depends on what<br />
support means. If it means, in their minds, the<br />
audience thinks it is a good idea, then support<br />
is not an action. If it means writing a letter in<br />
support of then, yes, it is an action. As stated,<br />
support is a weak action at best.<br />
The others statements are all attitudes, facts,<br />
or beliefs. They may imply actions, but they are<br />
not actions in themselves.<br />
An action must be observable. Always ask yourself<br />
as a final test, can I see someone be aware,<br />
understand, or know?<br />
<strong>Social</strong> <strong>Marketing</strong> Behavior A Practical Resource for <strong>Social</strong> Change Professionals
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