Table 2.
The four Ps of marketing: FBL, TBL, and SET approaches
| Financial Bottom Line* (FBL) Oriented Marketing | Triple Bottom Line** (TBL) Oriented Marketing |
Social and Ecological Thought*** (SET) Oriented Marketing (based on virtue ethics) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | Any goods or services that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or a need. |
Akin to FBL marketing, except that TBL marketing is not content with “any” goods and services, but rather TBL marketing emphasizes: a) the principle of “sustainable development” (i.e., to reduce negative impact on future people); and b) the development of products that have a reduced ecological footprint, via tools like cradle-to-cradle product design and de-materialization. |
Akin to TBL marketing, except that SET marketing: a) refuses to offer unsustainable products that meet consumer wants but not their needs, even if such products are profitable (self-control); b) adds an emphasis on enhancing positive externalities to the mainstream understanding of “sustainable development”; and c) expands the emphasis of sustainability to include optimizing both social and ecological well-being. |
| Price | The amount of money charged for a product or service; the sum of all that a consumer gives up to get the benefits of the product or service. | Akin to FBL marketing, except TBL marketing emphasizes that, in principle, the financial price should also include the social and ecological externalities associated with the manufacture, purchase, use, and disposal of the product or service. (However, under utilitarian assumptions, it is difficult to achieve this even in “ideal” circumstances, leaving TBL marketing under-developed regarding how to do this in practice.) |
Akin to TBL marketing, except that SET marketing: a) emphasizes that all (direct and indirect) stakeholders associated with producing a good or service are treated fairly (justice); b) emphasizes that price is more than a mere financial transaction, it is also infused with relationships and involves a firm’s contribution to social justice and value creation (relational ethics, re-personalize price); and c) provides practical implications of how to incorporate socio-ecological factors in a price (e.g., non-sticker price information). |
| Place | The physical (and virtual) markets where buyers and sellers are conveniently and efficiently brought together in space and time, via pathways called marketing channels. |
Akin to FBL marketing, except that TBL marketing seeks to enhance a firm’s financial well-being by reducing negative socio-ecological costs evident in its marketing channels: a) at the point of transaction (e.g., energy-efficient buildings); and b) in the larger distribution channel. |
Akin to TBL marketing, except that SET marketing: a) emphasizes making decisions with awareness that everything is interconnected in time and space (practical wisdom); b) has a bias toward small-scale enterprises that operate in marketplaces where stakeholders have ongoing and embedded relationships; and c) emphasizes place-based marketing channels that enhance socio-ecological well-being and local economies. |
| Promotion | Sending clear, consistent, and compelling messages across various media in a unified voice to educate, create awareness, persuade, remind, motivate, reward, and connect with consumers. |
Akin to FBL marketing, except that TBL marketing: a) promotes firms’ mutually beneficial initiatives to address socio-ecological concerns in ways that enhance profitability; and b) emphasizes transparency, openness, and authenticity to enhance firm reputation (and financial well-being). |
Akin to TBL marketing, except that SET marketing: a) challenges unsustainable status quo practices, even if this does not optimize a firm’s (narrow) financial self-interests (courage); b) promotes, describes, and offers (counter-cultural) alternatives that address negative socio-ecological externalities associated with the status quo; and c) enables stakeholders to exchange ideas about enhancing opportunities to enact SET-oriented marketing principles and promote positive externalities among organizations. |
Notes
*FBL approach seeks to maximize financial well-being with little consideration of social and ecological well-being (which is responsibility of other stakeholders like the government).
**TBL approach seeks to enhance financial well-being by reducing negative social and ecological externalities (care for people and planet in ways that will increase profits).
***SET approach seeks to optimize social and ecological well-being while achieving sufficient financial well-being (i.e., relaxes the need to maximize profits).