MARKETING...... consumer needs and wants

According to my view Marketing does not create consumer needs, it simply responds to needs of consumers. Companies following the marketing concept will identify a need (opportunity) in the market and they will seek to satisfy the need in a way that is profitable. The consumer and his or her needs will remain the focus of all their efforts and companies will respond to these needs as they are perceived and noticed.

However, marketing may lead consumers to realize a need that might have previously gone unnoticed. Perhaps a need or want was not realized until that product or service came along. For example, nearly everyone feels they need a cell phone now, but this need is a recent trend. Ten years ago many of the same consumers that would now likely feel that they need a cell phone might have claimed that they had no real use for one. Sometimes making people aware of what they are missing can influence a future demand for a product.

Do companies really believe in corporate social responsibility? OR they simply use it as a publicity tool?

CSR can affect staff, consumers, suppliers, investors, governments and the public.

The ever-famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi ‘You must be the change you wish to see in the world,’ is fairly apt for businesses these days. In fact, coming to think of it…last year Gandhi’s quote must have hit home for some companies as we saw a sudden explosion of CSR initiatives from companies who feel the need to ‘give back to society.

Companies are giving back to society, and for a vast range of reasons. Campbell, for example, moved ahead with CSR campaigns and received a Gold Medal Award, which represents one of the industry’s highest honors.

So what exactly did the company do? Well, after being around for many decades, the company created five community gardens and spearheaded a ‘nourishing’ program that now addresses health issues – such as obesity – among children. Essentially, Campbell was just one of the many companies that sought to ‘give back to society’ and was rewarded for it. Then later in 2010, as CSR became more mainstream, companies like Cisco and Kraft created ‘social media communities,’ to help when creating activities and initiatives.

Now this begs the question- what’s in for coming year? Are companies going to continue to develop CSR Strategies? The answer is probably yes but that leads to a more important question , Why? Do companies simply see CSR as an effective marketing tool or do they really feel they have a civic responsibility? Will we expect to see professionals emerging who can further develop networking opportunities to balance sustainability efforts and social media and how are companies going handle the demands of this new innovative business technique?

Moving forward, it’s not that difficult to predict the future of CSR. If a company is contributing to the growth of a society and its customers are continuing to have faith in a brand then…we got ourselves a win-win situation here!

As companies have a responsibility and act in public interest and will profit by doing those activities is not real. Many big and reputed companies claim that they are not only for profit but also intend to serve society and human welfare. They come up with healthier food , efficient , energy saving equipments , Eco-friendly products to make the environment more healthier. It is obvious that they have won peoples and their stakeholders heart, but it’s an illusion, and a potentially dangerous one.

The idea of CSR is irrelevent in cases where private profitls and public intrests are aligned. The companies that can do everything can boost their profit up and the companies are making CSR as its publicity tool to act as in a society to create awareness and attract people will end up increasing Social welfare gradually.In circumstances in which profits and social welfare are in direct opposition, an appeal to corporate social responsibility will almost always be ineffective, because executives are unlikely to act voluntarily in the public interest and against shareholder interests.The danger is that a focus on social responsibility will delay or discourage more effective measures to enhance social welfare in those cases where profits and the public good are at odds. As society looks to companies to address these problems, the real solutions may be ignored.