Social marketing practices with reference to Aravind eye hospitals

Social Marketing Practices with Reference to Aravind Eye Hospitals.

Thiruvalluar said “Should you be born, be born with glory, Or else better not to be born”. Here is a person Dr. G. Venkataswamy affectionately called as GV born with such glory by servicing the downtrodden in rural India, and he is an entrepreneur who started Aravind eye hospitals nearly four decades before at Madurai in Tamil Nadu with a goal to offer quality eye care at reasonable cost. Social marketing techniques used to influence the audience to change their social behaviors for their benefit which is related to the environment, public health, safety, and community development. Dr G.V. adapted social marketing techniques to influence the community to achieve a desired change to eradicate blindness among the rural community. He was such an entrepreneur who recognized social problems and formed a voluntary organization as a nonprofit sector by the name Aravind Eye Hospital. Aravind has less than 1 percent of India's ophthalmic workforce, but performs over 5 percent of the country's ophthalmic surgeries!

To understand the concepts of Social Marketing

To find out whether the social good is always the primary focus at Aravind hospitals

To identify the best practices adopted for Social welfare campaign at Aravind eye hospitals

To offer suggestions for further growth of Aravind eye hospitals

Social marketing refers to the promotional business idea applied to increase awareness about a social welfare campaign. The Social Marketing concept takes various principles and practices from commercial marketing theory in order to advance a perceived social benefit like reducing cigarette smoking, drug use or intoxicated driving. Social marketing is widely used to influence health behaviour. Aravind eye hospital developed anti blindness campaign.

Primary data collected through Observation at Madurai and Pondicherry Aravind Eye hospitals. Interview was conducted with few doctors and other employees to find out their problems. Secondary data collected through Annual reports of Aravind Eye hospitals, Magazines, newspapers and papers published in conferences.

Aravind eye hospital was started with a vision to eliminate needless blindness. Their mission is to provide compassionate and high quality eye care for all, by developing ophthalmic human resources through teaching and training, through capacity building, advocacy, research and publications, and by making high quality ophthalmic products affordable and accessible to the vision impaired worldwide.