Say you have the option of choosing between two brands – similar price, similar quality. The only difference is that one brand publically supports a good cause, and the other doesn’t. Which would you choose?
If you’d pick the socially-concious brand, you’re in the company of over 90% of consumers worldwide, according to a recent survey by Cone Communications. The same consumer group is also more likely to extend their loyalty to those brands in the future. 42% of how shoppers feel about a company derives from their perceptions of the brand’s charitable practices, according to another recent study by the Reputation Institute.
“In today’s reputation economy, what you stand for as a corporation often matters more than what you produce or sell,” writes Forbes’ Jaclyn Smith.
Business owners have caught on to this phenomenon, particularly in recent years, when sharing charity initiatives with thousands of customers is as simple as posting on Facebook. In the boardroom, it’s referred to as “CSR,” or Corporate Social Responsibility: a business practice that involves participating in initiatives that benefit society. Far from a sentimental scheme, consumers now expect businesses to “do good with their dollars.”
Perks of practicing CSR go beyond boosting sales – they also attract better employee talent and report happier employees.
“Employees and customers want to work with a company that they respect,” said John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management.
But beware of relying on CSR as a brand-rehab-Band-Aid: it’s often more effective to fix your issues first, THEN focus on CSR once things are running smoothly.
“If your boat is sinking, you can keep patching the holes, but you really need to dock and repair it.”
Then you can leverage your success through CSR,” said Ryan McCarty, Director of Customer and Employee Relations at national Verizon retailer The Cellular Connection.
When considering which cause to align with your company, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to choose just one, particularly when your business already provides a widely-applicable service. Consider the following initiatives:
– Law firm DLA Piper offers legal help pro bono, addressing cases involving education, hunger relief, juvenile justice, domestic violence, and veterans’ care.
– Marketing agency HEROfarm executes one pro bono nonprofit marketing campaigns each year for organizations like the American Cancer Society, Boy Scouts of America, and Tulane University. Co-founder Shaun Walker said, “We also measure these results by our rising name recognition, as seen by our increasing accolades as we’ve matured, and by the fact our revenue has risen every year since our founding four years ago…True success comes when everyone focuses on the bigger picture and here, the bigger picture isn’t just about doing your job—it’s about trying to change the world for the better.”
– Fashion house Pax Cult donates 10% of its profits to a charity organization of the customer’s choice.
– Software giant Microsoft names employee representatives in different regions as Citizenship Leads, who address issues in their local communities.
Microsoft is actually the company with the most distinguished CSR image in the world, followed by: Walt Disney, Google, BMW, and Daimler.
But you don’t have to be a giant corporation to practice CSR. Here are a few more inspiring examples:
– Patagonia Outdoor Clothing – Their Common Threads Partnership allows customers to trade in gently-used products for a 50% discount. The products are then donated to populations in need.
– Hershey’s Chocolate – A downloadable version of their CSR report is available on their website, and for good reason: they have programs supporting United Way, Children’s Miracle Network, scholarship programs, and even their own Project Peanut Butter, which funds a factory in Ghana that produces peanut-based foods. These nutrient-rich products are used for therapeutic purposes to nurse malnourished Ghanean children back to health, and the factory provides the added bonus of supporting local farmers who provide ingredients, and creating more jobs for the community.
– Costa Coffee – a chain in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, has pioneered an initiative to hire differently-abled employees. All store managers are required to learn basic sign language to provide training to hearing-impaired employees. Today, speech and hearing impaired employees account for 15% of the Costa Coffee team.
– Häagen-Dazs – Did you know that honey pees pollinate ingredients included in one-third of the food we eat, including flavoring agents in many Häagen-Dazs products? Unfortunately, their population is declining rapidly, which could lead to global consequences in food production, which is the motivation behind Häagen-Dazs’s Honey Bee Project. Fortunately, supporting the cause is simple: their website says, “We’d love for you to get involved, too! When you buy a carton of our ice cream, you help Häagen-Dazs fund research to save the bees.”
CSR is just plain good business. Why not get involved? Check out some of the causes we support!
Here’s to making a difference,
