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by Renee Fellows

April 2, 2007— In the sea of small business marketing even the smallest fish are hoping to survive and thrive in their environment. One way to accomplish that goal is to turn your marketing efforts toward a socially conscious driven plan. From rock band U2’s lead singer icon turned philanthropist Bono to ice cream giants Ben & Jerry, those in the public eye are using their fame and fortunes to improve the world in which we live, all while building an iron-clad brand image that can’t be beat. Can the same work for your small business?

Cause Marketing Is Hot

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Nearly a multibillion-dollar industry today (estimated to clock in at $1.4 billion in the United States this year—a growth of 23 percent since 2005, according to a study by the Chicago-based IEG Sponsorship Report) cause-related marketing has rapidly spread into mainstream. Buy a red phone and a percentage of your purchase goes to fight AIDS and hunger in Africa . Buy pink tennis balls and you’re supporting breast cancer research. Exactly whom are these items targeted to reach? Prime markets for socially conscious marketing are teens and college age, women and the ‘green’ individuals who support environmental and animal issues. So where does that leave the rest of the market? They’re mostly on the fence. There is a small but vocal contingent who wonder where retail charity dollars are actually going, but overall, the message is if you’re going to buy a phone or tennis balls, why not buy the ones that do a little good for someone in need? People want to feel good about themselves. The idea that business doesn’t have to be cut-throat and live by a ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality is shifting to a more holistic ‘we’re here to help each other’ approach. The good news is that small businesses can truly benefit from this philosophy as much as the big corporate giants.

Here in New England we have many businesses that take an active role in building better communities by partnering with charitable organizations. Jordan ’s, the region’s largest furniture chain (now owned by Warren Buffet) is well known for its philanthropy. The stores sell more furniture per foot than any other furniture store in the country and spend less on advertising (2% on average versus more than 7% of total budget) than any other furniture retailer. What’s the secret to their success? Positive brand image, high quality products, ‘under pricing’ instead of sales, and a corporate mission focused on doing good in the community. The company receives a tremendous amount of good will from its charitable works. From positive public and community relations to marketing and advertising, its over 1,000 employees feel good about coming to work knowing that the hours they spend on the job not only benefits their company but those in their towns who are in need. The partner charities receive a financial boost, volunteers from the organization, and a growing momentum from the partnership with Jordan ’s to pull in other businesses for their cause. It’s a win-win.

Starting a socially conscious marketing communications plan at your company requires several steps in order to be successful and really hit marketing goals.

100% Buy-in with the Plan

Whatever what your concept is there must be 100% support and buy-in from all levels of the company. If marketing and finance are on board, but executive management doesn’t value the program, it won’t be successful no matter how hard you try. Every individual in the organization must understand and support the cause. Remember that each employee is a brand evangelist, talking and spreading your brand image both at work and throughout the community. It’s critical that everyone from the president of the company down to the maintenance staff be included in the plan and excited about the commitment the organization is making to the charitable mission. Remember, if positive energy is contagious, negative energy can systematically wipe out any plan ten times faster.

Use Marketing Media Effectively

Announcing a cause-related program to your employees and customers needs to be, above all else, honest. If you’re offering a percentage of profits to the charity, explain what the percentage means in real dollars and how that contribution will impact the charity. Don’t try to sugar coat your messages with ‘aren’t we wonderful language.’ Rather drive your copy right to the heart of the matter. ‘Hunger Stops with You - Buy a widget from XYZ Company and you can keep a child from going to bed hungry tonight.’ Effective ad copy shouldn’t spend paragraphs espousing the many values of your company’s good works, rather it should tell the impact of those efforts on the community as a whole.

Tell Your Story

Spend time creating the reasons why your company has become involved in charitable organizations or how the company’s mission was developed around the premise that to be a good corporate citizen the founder firmly believed that giving back was not just nice, but necessary. Provide examples of how the company has grown through this belief system and how your philosophy carries through to all aspects of your business. People like knowing the drama, the back story if you will, of how good won out over bad and obstacles that were seemingly impossible were overcome. If you tell the story well, you’ll engage your audience and gather supporters along the way.

Which Charity?

How you decide to support a cause is entirely up to your leadership, but try to think along the lines of problems and solutions. Bono was horrified at the AIDS and famine epidemics in Africa and was so moved by what he witnessed in trips to the continent that he was inspired to take action. His action has become a battle cry for over 2.5 million supporters of One.org, the campaign to end hunger and AIDS. While everyone can’t do what Bono did, you can identify a problem in your community and gather supporters to address it. Is homelessness an issue? Teen safety? Have you been personally affected by cancer, heart attack or disease? Take your problem (even consider one that you deal with daily in your business), identify it, present solutions and gather supporters to achieve a goal.

The Business at Hand

You’re probably thinking, ‘I’m in business to make money,’ and you’re wondering how you can devote corporate energies to a cause and still keep your books in the black. The idea isn’t to give until it hurts, but rather to use your position in the community and in your industry to make a difference. That can mean shining light on a cause, making contributions, hosting volunteerism events, or a myriad of other ideas. While you’re in the community networking and striking business deals, it’s perfectly acceptable to talk about your passion for the cause. One-on-one meetings are actually the perfect time to spread your message because the story is interesting. If your restaurant only uses organically grown products in its menus, tell them. If your business is committed to reducing greenhouse gasses, tell them. These core values are what will set you apart from your competition and keep you first in mind when your colleague returns to her office and later decides that she needs a service like the one you provide. If the decision comes down to your socially conscious company and another less charitable company (and price isn’t an issue, heck even if price IS an issue), which one do you think she’d be more likely to call? The good will she feels toward you and your efforts speaks volumes about your character and that of your company. It builds trust.

Be Consistent

It’s not about how much you spend or how self-sacrificing you are, but rather it’s how concerted your efforts are and how well integrated the philosophy is with the rest of your enterprise. Consistency is the backbone of your message. Tell it repeatedly, concisely and with passion and you’ll see the message radiate outward. Whenever possible integrate your social messaging with your brand messaging in a creative way. That means across your print, radio, TV, web and viral channels all messages need to be reflecting the same core values. If your business is small you’re probably able to manage this task yourself, but as your organization grows, outside expertise in brand image and messaging should be considered. Different audiences view and hear messages uniquely and experts in advertising and public relations can help you to effectively reach them.

It doesn’t matter what effort you decide to support, but how you integrate that concept into your overall mission. Ultimately, cause related marketing must be heartfelt and truly something that your organization believes in and is willing to spend additional time and dollars to support. Do it with passion and you’ll see the rewards. To learn more about socially conscious marketing and how you can use it to launch your mission and your business plan, contact Renee Fellows at ClearPoint Marketing Communications at (603) 434-9433 or visit the web site at www.OneClearpoint.com.

To learn more about how socially conscious marketing can enhance your business’ brand, contact Renee Fellows at ClearPoint Marketing Communications at (603) 434-9433 or visit the web at www.oneclearpoint.com.

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