Key Messages
The Benefits Of Corporate Social Responsibility: How Big Businesses Are Helping The World Through Good Works
Modern businesses need to care about more than just profits if they want to be good.
Corporate Social Responsibility has become essential for any company that wants to succeed in this day and age.
Examples from companies like Coca-Cola to General Mills have shown that engaging in a good cause results in better, more motivated staff, happier customers, and of course, help improve the lives of disadvantaged people.
It’s something that requires a long term commitment on their part so they reap the rewards as well as make lasting change.
The book Good Works!
also shows how pet owners managed to save mutts without ever actually meeting them and how Westerners have helped mothers with some of the world’s poorest economies buy diapers – all by helping out with corporate responsibility initiatives.
It’s no wonder then why modern businesses are beginning to recognize how important it is for them to prioritize these efforts instead of only focusing on profit.
Companies Should Consider Corporate Social Responsibility To Build Loyal Customers, Cut Costs And Attract The Best Employees
Companies that are committed to making a difference and addressing social issues have an edge over their competitors.
It’s not just about increasing their sales and gaining the loyalty of customers; companies can also benefit from reduced costs and improved employee satisfaction by taking on a socially responsible approach to doing business.
Evidence shows that 94 percent of customers prefer brands that support social initiatives, while 69 percent of employees look for corporate social responsibility when deciding where they want to work.
For example, AT&T was able to reduce their costs by cutting the amount of paper used in communication through electronic options, while The Body Shop was rewarded with great publicity due to their commitment to fair trade and animal-testing free products.
Ultimately, companies tackling social issues can reap big rewards when it comes to increased revenue, lowered costs, and finding better employees – all leading to greater success for their organization in the long run.
Companies Should Focus On Unsaturated Causes And Permanent Social Issues To Improve Brand Recognition
When it comes to building brand recognition, companies should focus on social issues that haven’t already been saturated by other organizations.
Doing so allows the company to establish their name and give customers something to link them with.
An example of this is Yoplait’s “Save Lids to Save Lives” campaign, where customers sent lids from Yoplait products to General Mills and a certain amount was donated to charity for each lid received.
This allowed Americans to associate the yogurt brand with breast cancer research and be seen in a better light.
For any strategy involving good works, it’s important that businesses choose issues not yet explored by others.
Otherwise, there is potential for losing visibility in the crowd of competition.
Additionally, long-term partnerships should be sought after when selecting an issue: temporarily supporting a city after a disaster might make headlines but ultimately will be forgotten much more quickly than permanent global efforts such as those focused on climate change and poverty.
Businesses can even find ways to support causes linked directly to their own product or those relevant to the interests they keep.
For instance, if a company produces goods overseas they could invest some of its earnings back into the local infrastructure – this creates opportunities for local talent while at the same time turning it into an image builder for the company!
The Rewards Of Cause Promotion: Raising Awareness And Encouraging Participation For Social Change
It’s no secret that companies can get great publicity by advocating for the right kind of cause.
Take General Mills’ Pink Together Campaign from 2007, for example.
With their MySpace page which was created to provide a platform for survivors of breast cancer to share their stories, they managed to reach over 2.5 million people – plus the millions that saw their pink label badges on their packaging!
PetSmart is another great example of a company using a Cause Promotion to draw attention to an important social issue and providing customers with a way to help tackle it.
They highlighted the staggering number of homeless pets in shelters who desperately needed homes and opened in-store pet adoption centers run by local animal welfare groups.
Plus, customers also had an opportunity to donate money towards strays whenever they made purchases in store.
The main takeaway here is that your Cause Promotion needs to be something customers can easily identify with, preferably something that’s tied directly with your company’s values or products.
The Body Shop took this idea (literally) and ran with it when they lobbied to ban animal testing in the EU and emphasized how none of their products were tested on animals at all!
How Cause-Related Marketing Helps Companies Make A Difference
Cause-Related Marketing allows companies and customers to join forces to achieve something good.
This kind of partnership allows for companies to use their products or services as a way of raising awareness, as well as incentivizing customers to do good simply by purchasing from them.
One great example is Pampers’ team up with UNICEF.
With this campaign, each purchase of Pampers diapers bought one dose of tetanus vaccine for parents in developing countries – meaning that consumers here in the United States could easily make a difference elsewhere in the world.
As a result, people who were aware of this campaign ended up buying significantly more Pampers diapers, causing sales to increase by 29 percent.
CJ also used Cause-Related Marketing successfully when they started a campaign to provide nutrition aid for malnourished people in Africa.
They put an extra bar code on their products with an added donation option and matched each donation received with an equal contribution from themselves.
Therefore, Cause-Related Marketing can have powerful results when employed strategically and applied by large companies with wide audiences such as American Express – whose campaign back in 1983 raised $1.7 million dollars!
Companies Should Tackle The Causes Of Social Problems Rather Than Just Provide Monetary Donations For Relief
Creating lasting change involves more than just providing monetary donations.
In some cases, it means altering consumer behavior for the better.
This approach has proven successful in certain cases.
The Subway restaurant chain serves as a great example – they not only give their customers information on how to maintain a healthy diet, they also sell sandwiches approved by the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Meal Certification program.
By taking this step, Subway is tackling heart disease at its source and potentially making a real difference in society‘s overall health.
However, this kind of change isn’t easy since it requires consumers to make lifestyle changes that may be inconvenient or preferable to what they’re used to.
Companies need to commit to long-term campaigns in order for these changes to stick and be beneficial for all parties involved.
The Benefits Of Workforce Volunteering For Companies And Employees Alike
Workforce Volunteering is an excellent way for companies to do something good for society, while also improving employee morale and skill sets.
By giving their employees the time and resources to take on social issues using their skills, companies benefit by seeing motivated workers who have a Greater loyalty to their employer, as well as improved work pride.
This is true even if the volunteering takes place in faraway locations – as with Luxottica Group, which sends groups of volunteers off to developing countries to provide eyeglasses to those visually impaired.
Even though this means working in often unusual surroundings, Director Greg Hare still sees some advantages: greater team development, flexibility and creativity due to the positive attitude within the volunteering atmosphere.
So not only do companies gain from Workforce Volunteering in terms of employee motivation and loyalty – but also in terms of improved skills that can be carried over into day-to-day work.
Companies Can Make Money And Help Society Through Socially Responsible Business Practices
Socially responsible business practices can help a company’s future significantly.
Consumers and employees alike expect companies to care about more than just their bottom line, and studies back that up – 69% of employees believe it is important for a company for them to live up to their social responsibilities.
That alone should signal to businesses that looking out for others – besides the shareholders – is incredibly valuable.
For instance, companies like Target are offering employees $5,250 a year towards an MBA degree in order to show their commitment to helping those employed by them.
On top of that, Coca-Cola is providing information on how to prevent HIV transmission as wells as free condoms!
They are doing this not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because they understand that if fewer people would contract this virus, it will maintain the workforce strength necessary – now and in the future.
Getting involved in environmental preservation efforts such as LEED standards – which Starbucks has committed too – is another great example.
By focusing on renewable energy sources and lessening waste production, these companies are ensuring there will be a planet left around for future generations to consume their products from!
Ultimately, success goes hand in hand with responsible activities nowadays.
Companies must invest more resources into serving charitable causes if they want to remain competitive in this new era.
Likewise, businesses wanting an expansive customer base must go above and beyond profit making in order to secure both economic gains and public support.
Wrap Up
The Good Works book, written by author Amy Errett, wraps up with an insightful summary: Doing good works can benefit companies in many ways.
Apart from increasing customer loyalty and employee satisfaction, it can also garner publicity for the company!
In today’s world where disasters such as climate change are becoming more common, it is essential to make corporate innovation a priority and reap the rewards of socially conscious actions.
On top of that, sustainable organizational structures and practices can help unleash potential profit opportunities.
Ultimately, this remarkable approach points us to a brighter future where business goals and social responsibility align harmoniously.
