Civil, public services charged to be marketing oriented

National President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG), Shola Sarfo-Duodu, has charged the civil and public services to take marketing more seriously.

This she says is critical because marketing within these services brings more than just good return on investments.

According to her, integrated marketing campaigns can be designed to enable Ghanaians live better lives and reduce crime.

Speaking at the 25 th Presidential Ball of the CIMG, at the National Conference Centre on Saturday, Dr Safo-Duodu said “civil and public services must be more marketing oriented and more customer focused to be responsive to the demands of our time in the interest of the people of Ghana.”

The event, which was held on the theme 'Marketing practice in contemporary Civil and Public Service', sought to ensure that marketing expertise is brought to bear on the lives of people.

It also seeks to ensure that meaningful contribution are made towards the improvement of the various organs of state responsible for shaping the direction of official decisions that affect the citizenry.

According to Dr Safo-Duodu, although there may be a perception that Ghana has seen considerable growth in her national life, recent developments point to the fact that the country must continue to strive for higher achievements.

This she said could be done through the adoption of world class standards to be able to withstand the inevitable shocks that hit the country's economic, social and political life.

The CIMG, according to her believes that in order to strengthen institutions responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies, the systematic application of in-depth integrated marketing principles and marketing communication strategies must be adopted to bring development to the nation.

Dr Safo-Duodu further explained that if government wants to be truly citizen-focused, it needs to use marketing principles and that “the strongest rationale for marketing was that marketing operations should be designed and implemented from the point of view of the individual who is the customer in the commercial sector.”

She said it was necessary for government to effectively involve marketers early in the formulation of marketing policies in order to ensure their smooth implementation.

The use of integrated marketing communication strategies will make it easier for government to get the citizenry to buy into policies and help in their eventual implementation.

She charged government not to only make pay attention to marketing but to also start harnessing the professional expertise that abounds in the country towards an effective and lasting national development.

Chairman of the Public Services Commission, Bridget Katsriku, in her response said the role the civil and public services play in the development of the nation cannot be underestimated.

But admitted that more needs to be done in order to improve upon marketing strategies of civil and public sector marketers if more will be achieved.

Mrs Katsriku, who was the special guest of honour at the event, said “the time has come for the public service to fully embrace and incorporate marketing principles that helps it to recognise its potentials for the successful adoption and implementation of strategic service delivery plans.”

She indicated that in an era of citizen participation, Ministries Departments and Adencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) must see the crucial role played by marketing in guiding citizens to decide where, when and how they make their daily choices of public services they consume.

She tasked civil and public service organizations to change their approach to service delivery and adopt marketing strategies which would help receive feedback from clients and customers as to whether the services they render are relevant to their needs.

Mrs Katsriku challenged the CIMG to make its courses available to the public service in order to build their capacity and that the Public Services Commission is ready to work with it.