Marketing and Corporate Initiatives that Build a Better World...and the Bottom Line
Discover why modern businesses have to care about more than just profit.
What are your thoughts when you see a huge firm sponsoring a charity or a good cause? Most likely, you'll grumble that the company doesn't care; they're only concerned with money, and this is simply excellent PR for them.
This way of thinking is extremely detrimental to these enterprises. In reality, any corporation must engage in what is known as corporate social responsibility and support a good cause. Doing it well will deliver a company not just excellent PR but also better, more motivated employees, happier customers, and, of course, the satisfaction of helping to improve the lives of others who are less fortunate.
These summaries demonstrate how organizations ranging from Coca-Cola to General Mills have benefited themselves and the world through good actions.
In this book, you will find
Why? Because if you want to be good, you must be in it for the long haul.
How pet owners saved mutts without ever meeting them,
Why do Westerners assist some of the world's poorest moms by purchasing more diapers?
1. Addressing social concerns may help businesses improve sales, cut expenses, and locate better personnel.
Consider that you want to consume chocolate but have to select between two brands. In terms of pricing, they are identical, with the exception that one of the companies promises to contribute 5% of the cost to charity.
Which one would you buy if you had never tried either before? You'd probably choose the one that contributes a percentage to a worthwhile cause.
And you are not alone! Customers are more likely to support firms that are recognized for promoting socially responsible projects. According to one survey, 94 percent of customers said they would switch brands if the new company made addressing social concerns a part of its business.
As we can see, philanthropic thinking can be an effective technique for businesses to maximize their chances of gaining consumers and increasing their bottom line.
However, supporting good causes may do more than simply help businesses get more clients.
In reality, numerous (primarily environmental) measures may help businesses save expenses.
Take AT&T, for example, which resolved to help the environment by minimizing their use of paper and adopting electronic communication whenever feasible. Not only did this mentality appeal to customers, but it also saved them millions of dollars.
The Body Shop's positive reputation stems in part from their vow to sell only fair trade and non-animal-tested items. This promise created a lot of press, which saved them money on public relations operations.
Furthermore, corporate social responsibility results in more contented and committed workers. According to research, 69 percent of employees think corporate social responsibility is a significant element in choosing their firm.
Thus, by investing in social issues that potential workers believe are essential, corporations get access to the best people.
2. Concentrate on underutilized societal concerns that can lead to long-term collaborations.
What do you recall about the letters you've received from charities funded by businesses? You probably remember the cause, but do you recall their branding?
Probably not. For businesses, brand recognition is critical. So, how can you fix this?
Focusing on a societal issue that other businesses haven't yet addressed is one strategy. You should seek out topics that will help you create your brand and encourage clients to associate your company with the cause you support.
This is precisely what the Yoplait yogurt brand accomplished with its "Save Lids, Save Lives" campaign. Customers may mail lids from Yoplait products to its parent firm, General Mills; for each lid received, the company contributes a specific amount to charity. As a consequence, American consumers now associate the yogurt brand with breast cancer research.
Whatever your method, make sure you're participating in a cause that's relatively unknown. Otherwise, you may lose visibility.
Furthermore, businesses should select challenges that will be important in the long run. For example, while assisting a city during a severe storm may undoubtedly make for a wonderful headline, it is also a good act that will be quickly forgotten.
Instead, you should focus on long-term challenges, such as global warming or poverty, and work to resolve them. Because these challenges appear unlikely to dissipate, you will receive ongoing attention for your attempts to address them.
Finally, select topics that are related to your goods or the interests of your organization. For example, if you manufacture your products in a poor area, why not put some of your profits towards local infrastructure?
Not only would you be performing a nice act, but you would also be opening up chances for prospective talent who might otherwise be unable to reach you owing to crumbling streets or dysfunctional trains. This is a win-win situation.
3. Companies may gain significant attention by lobbying for the correct cause promotion.
Nobody loves being the bearer of terrible news. Surprisingly, firms are rewarded with significant exposure when they alert the public about a matter that requires their attention.
This cause promotion promotes awareness of societal concerns while also demonstrating that the corporation cares about them.
Consider General Mills' Pink Together campaign from 2007. The firm built a MySpace page where breast cancer survivors, physicians, and others could share their tales with the world. General Mills also created badges and backdrops that MySpace users could use to demonstrate their dedication to the cause.
Their MySpace campaign reached over 2.5 million people, not to mention those reached through the Pink Together logo on General Mills product labels.
Once you've created awareness, you should present them with a simple option to help address the social issue you're fighting for. In essence, giving your consumers the chance to engage makes you a partner in doing good.
Consider PetSmart, the largest pet goods shop in the United States, which raised awareness about the astounding number of dogs and cats who are euthanized each year just because they do not have an owner.
PetSmart worked hard to reverse this, in part by building in-store pet adoption centers managed by local animal welfare organizations and allowing shoppers to give money to aid stray animals.
No matter what your cause promotion is, it must be easily linked to your company's goods or principles.
The Body Shop, for example, advocated for a ban on animal-tested cosmetics in the EU. Throughout their campaign, they had the chance to emphasize that their goods were manufactured without animal testing, and everyone interested in their cause now had a fantastic site to buy cosmetics.
4. Cause-related marketing enables businesses and consumers to collaborate to do good.
Raising awareness does not merely result in favorable PR. It can also be used to sell items directly. Companies use cause-related marketing tactics to inspire customers to do good just by purchasing their products.
Companies may add promotions to their items and make a contribution every time someone buys one of their products.
Pampers, for example, accomplished this by partnering with UNICEF to purchase one dose of tetanus vaccination for every pack of diapers sold. This allows parents in the United States to help parents in developing nations in a straightforward and practical manner.
And it worked! According to studies, those who were aware of the promotion purchased much more Pampers diapers, increasing sales by 29%.
Similarly, the Korean giant CJ has launched a mission to assist starving people in Africa. They added an additional bar code to their products, which customers could use to give money. CJ matched every donation received.
Cause-Related Marketing works well for businesses with items that appeal to a large audience. People's donations are small, and they only make a difference when they add up, i.e., when you sell in bulk.
For example, because of their large audience, American Express was able to make a difference by offering to contribute one penny to the restoration of the Statue of Liberty for every time someone used an American Express card, as well as a single dollar for every new account created.
In the end, they gave $1.7 million, and this was in 1983!
If American Express didn't have such a large client base, such a campaign might not have been as effective.
5. Creating long-term change might sometimes entail improving customer behavior.
Social duty is similar to medicine: you may strive to alleviate symptoms, which your patients would undoubtedly appreciate, but isn't it preferable to treat the disease? In this flash, we'll look at how businesses might serve as "doctors" for societal sickness.
To begin, consider the limitations of monetary gifts to a worthwhile cause. While they can reduce some people's misery, monetary offerings cannot benefit everyone.
Consider this: You can pay for everyone's heart surgery today, but that won't address the underlying issues that cause heart disease. In other words, monetary gifts do not reduce the bad behaviors that lead to heart attacks.
If you want your initiative to have a significant, long-term influence on society, you must change people's behaviors.
Subway is an example of this notion, as it not only offers consumers information on how to maintain a healthy diet, but it also sells sandwiches that have been certified by the American Heart Association's Heart-Check Meal Program.
Subway hopes to make a genuine, beneficial influence in society by addressing the root problem rather than simply the symptoms.
However, corporations should only commit to such initiatives if they want to be around for the long run.
The truth is that changing people's behaviors is difficult, especially when the change is inconvenient. Be honest: despite understanding how harmful unhealthy foods are for us, how many of us still consume them? Changing our diets would entail giving up some pleasures.
This technique demands patience; you must recognize that the success of your campaign cannot be assessed in days or months, but rather in years.
6. Workforce volunteering enables businesses to do good while enhancing employee morale and skills.
Have you ever felt like you're just moving documents around at work and not doing anything meaningful? Wouldn't it be great to do something that benefits your community? Companies are increasingly recognizing this desire and helping workers who wish to make a difference through workforce volunteering.
Workforce volunteering is an excellent method to put employees' abilities to use while also benefiting society as a whole. Companies are ideally positioned to assist employees by providing them with the time and resources they require to address societal concerns.
For example, in 2011, IBM started a Workforce Volunteering Program, encouraging its workers to volunteer for charities such as Grupo Puentes or Business in the Community.
Between January and June 2011, IBM workers globally contributed more than 2.5 million hours of voluntary service.
But what do businesses stand to gain from workforce volunteering?
Employees who have the opportunity to put their abilities to good use are more motivated, and they also learn new skills through voluntary work.
Furthermore, they tend to be more devoted to their company and take greater pleasure in their job. That nice sense of knowing you've not only worked for your own livelihood but also done something for your community and society is absolutely amazing, and workers identify it with the company that enabled their voluntary activity.
The Luxottica Group, for example, sends groups of employees to underdeveloped nations to distribute old, donated spectacles to the visually handicapped. To ensure that individuals receive the correct prescription, volunteers must conduct eye tests, frequently in odd settings.
However, Greg Hare, the director of Luxottica's nonprofit One Sight, views this as an advantage: "What better way to teach cooperation, flexibility, creativity, and the power of a positive mindset than to take like-minded individuals to a developing nation for two weeks?"
7. Socially responsible business practices are critical for your company's future.
People are often divided into two camps: those who regard business as a way to make a lot of money and others who are skeptical of its capacity to be a force for good. However, socially responsible business practices provide an opportunity to blend the two worlds—to generate money while also becoming a force for good.
Consumers and workers increasingly want corporations to be socially responsible. According to studies, 69 percent of employees believe it is crucial for their organization to uphold its social duty. In contrast, just 6% of customers thought that a company's primary goal should be to increase profits.
Many businesses notice this data and respond accordingly. Target, for example, will provide $5,250 per year to employees for an MBA degree.
Fundamentally, the future labor and customer base depend wholly on a functional society. As a result, if businesses are to survive in the long run, they must promote social well-being.
Coca-Cola, for example, helps bottlers in South Africa by offering an HIV prevention program. Employees get HIV education and prevention tips, as well as free condoms.
Coca-Cola's approach not only benefits workers, but it also helps the company retain its staff by reducing the number of people who get the deadly illness.
Other corporations, such as Starbucks, are leading the way in tackling environmental problems.
Starbucks has vowed to employ LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards in all of its stores, making them more "green" by using renewable energy and generating less trash. After all, if mankind cannot find out how to deal with environmental issues, there may come a time when there are no more customers to sell to!
However, if enough businesses prioritize assisting society and the environment, they will realize that doing good is as simple as making money.
Final Summary
Companies may greatly benefit from charity and socially conscious activities since they improve corporate visibility, staff happiness, and consumer loyalty. Not only can the power of doing good unleash potential riches for businesses, but climate change and other calamities may make this type of corporate innovation necessary.