Why Cause Marketing is Good for Your Business and How to Do It Effectively

In her hit song, I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair), Sandi Thom laments being “born too late into a world that doesn’t care”.

Is she right – is it all over red rover? Have we missed our chance to “care”? I don’t think so. I’m not convinced that it’s “too late”, or that the world “doesn’t care”. On the contrary. While our world is far from perfect, the evidence I see suggests that people are “caring” more than ever – and many of them are doing it through their businesses.

More and more we are breathing life into our businesses by weaving personal meaning into them, which in turn is changing the world. Savvy entrepreneurs are realising that contributing to or promoting a cause that means something to them is both a feel-good experience and a wise marketing strategy … In that giving itself is a natural feel-good balm which brings with it a sense of satisfaction, and that many of today’s “caring” consumers like to buy from businesses that are willing to go out of their way to help make the world a better place … which comes down to – people do business with people they like and respect. Check out the stats that demonstrate this on Nick Rice’s blog post, If you’re not on the cause marketing bandwagon.

Okay, so you haven’t already been bitten by the do-gooder bug and are feeling a bit at sea? Let’s take a look at some ideas for how you might incorporate “cause” into your marketing.

I started by looking for something that had meaning for me personally and which was aligned with my business mission. Because my mission is to help people to connect (through fun) and thereby enhance their relationships (through better communication), I decided to donate $1 from every t-shirt I sell to a small school that specialises in helping children with communication difficulties. As my business grows I would also like to contribute to an organisation that helps struggling families to stay together.

Donations, sponsorships, or write-ups on your blog are typical methods, or you could hold a special event.

Last December Internet Marketers John Reese, Armand Morin, Alex Mandossian, Mike Filsaime and David Frey held a teleconference to offer their Ideas, Insights and Predictions for 2007 and then donated the money they raised to build a school in El Salvador for kids who didn’t have one.

Now, here’s a novel idea…

Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton came up with the idea of creating an ebook to celebrate The Age of Conversation from which 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity, an organisation that helps children around the world. Knock-out idea guys.

An open invitation was extended for 100 writers to share their ideas, and SBB contributors Nick Rice and Steve Woodruff were among those who responded. So keep your eyes peeled for this exciting project. (Drew will soon be joining the team at SBB, so stay tuned for his first article!)

Some folk are going all the way…

A new breed of entrepreneurs is founding businesses for the specific purpose of helping a selected community.

The Bang Consortium was founded by five enterprising mums when they found a gap in the market for a genuinely eco-friendly and fashionable alternative to the green polypropylene shopping bags (designed to replace plastic bags in supermarkets). But the eco-friendly angle is just the start of it for these crusading entrepreneurs; Bangladeshi artisans manufacture their natural-fibre products under a fair trade arrangement which provides sustainable trade and employment to support vulnerable families in Bangladesh.

This is clearly a win-win for everyone. The brand now offers a range of unique, eco-friendly and affordable contemporary bags while at the same time supporting a vulnerable community. Consumers who choose to buy from them can support eco-friendly products while also helping people in need in third world countries.

Even more extreme is Taylor & Khoo. A fashion and homewares label founded by Kylie Taylor & Valerie Khoo, they provide employment and opportunity for people in poverty in Cambodia and support the needs of about 120 orphaned children. Neither Kylie or Valerie receives any income from Taylor & Khoo. Did you get that? Their entire business – they operate both a physical store (in an upmarket retail centre) and an online store – was established to support charities in Cambodia. Last September they were among the 10 “cool companies” honoured in Australian Anthill’s Cool Company Awards. Not bad.

What’s in it for you…

Allison Toner’s article Social responsibility: Can you make a difference? in Flying Solo looks at cause marketing purely from a marketing perspective and explains the advantages of being socially responsible for your business. She also provides examples of how you can approach it:

Business-wise, being socially responsible can be some of the best advertising you can do. However, for it to be effective your social responsibility action has to actually connect to your solo business. It’s really no different to the approach large corporations take; it’s just on a smaller scale.

The trick is to take actions which aren’t only socially responsible, but which help to reinforce your brand. So before agreeing to sponsor a local school event or donating to a fundraiser, assess what good it will do for your brand.

Whether or not you feel compelled to change the world, this perspective may give you food for thought about how you might make a difference and connect at a deeper level with your customers. Supporting a cause can:

1. Add another dimension to your brand’s personality,
2. Trigger new ideas that will enhance your brand,
3. Attract favourable publicity for your business, and
4. Add more meaning for you.

The act of giving is actually a very selfish one when it makes you feel good. When it doesn’t it’s a sacrifice. So I personally wouldn’t recommend jumping on the nearest bandwagon. If you choose to go this route, I think the most important factor is to find a cause that is meaningful to you. 

In light of this warm and fuzzy marketing strategy taking root, could Ms Thom be mistaken? Could it be that the world does care – even those who aren’t punk rockers with flowers in their hair? Might a “revolution” be in the air?

And are you going to join the lovefest?

As Valerie Khoo puts it in her recent article in Australian Anthill:

As businesses and individuals, we can decide to make money, build our empires and become leaders in our respective industries. Or we can do all that and change the world at the same time. Which will you choose?

Danielle
Caring Capitalist