| ||
| ||
|
Marketing Information | |
| Domain Names | E Books | Email Marketing | Ezine Marketing | |||
| Internet Marketing | Marketing | PPC Advertising | SEO | |||
| Traffic Building | Web Design | Web Development | Web Hosting | |||
| ||||||
|
| ||||
|
Marketing For Just Cause
Cause marketing is a relationship between a for-profit and a nonprofit that brings in money and resources for the nonprofit, while providing credibility and goodwill for the business. According to the IEG Sponsorship Report, this category grew to $733 million in the US in 2001. There are a number of reasons for that growth. A Cone Communications survey found that: - 80 percent of Americans have a more positive image of companies that support a cause they care about - nearly two-thirds of Americans say they would likely switch brands or retailers to one associated with a good cause - more than half said they would pay more for a cause marketer's products or services - 87 percent of employees at organizations with a cause marketing program feel a strong sense of loyalty to their company as opposed to 67 percent of those at companies that do not support causes As you can see, adopting good causes can be beneficial, but your company's involvement should be planned just as you plan any other business activity. Here are five steps to developing an effective cause marketing program. Choose Your Cause Strategically. Search for a single charitable cause that you and your employees can believe in, as well as one that helps advance your business objectives. For instance, a company may choose an educational cause to ensure it has a continuing pool of well-educated workers. Many companies seek issues that align with their products, services or geographic service area. Others look for issues that resonate with niche audiences or that differentiate them in the marketplace. You may want to consider choosing an emerging issue. This way, your company will be a pioneer rather than just another in a list of companies. Perform Due Diligence. Once you have identified the cause, check out the individual charities involved in that cause just as you would any other strategic ally. Do they deserve your support? What is their public perception? Are they well run? What are their objectives, goals, successes and failures? Who are their executives and board members? Do they have any complaints lodged against them? How much of their money goes to salaries and overhead and how much actually gets to those it serves? Are they capable of helping you access intended target markets? Below is a link to a site that helps you evaluate charities. http://www.give.org/index.asp Establish Goals. Now that you have selected your charity, determine what it is you want to accomplish with your involvement from a business perspective. There are tangible and intangible goals you can reach through cause marketing. Are you looking for networking opportunities at the board or donor level? Do you want to raise your business' profile through publicity about your involvement? Are you trying to build employee or customer loyalty? Or, do you just want to shore up support in your home community? Set your goals and then you can determine what resources, both time and money, to budget for the cause. Dive In. Although writing a check to the cause will help, this should not be the extent of your participation. Choose a single cause and maintain a focused campaign that integrates the cause into the very fabric of your organization. Look at other ways to expand your involvement. Serve on the board. Become a volunteer for your selected cause. Encourage employees to get involved in projects with the selected charity. Give them a "charitable time" budget each month that lets them use business hours to perform their service with your chosen cause. Strategic allies and even customers may want to be involved if you have selected your cause wisely. Communicate. Develop a simple, direct and compelling message that not only explains the cause but the reason your company is involved. Explain how purchases - if part of the program - are directed into the cause and how that contribution will affect it. Then, promote the cause in customer mailings and in your advertising. Create joint events with your nonprofit partner to attract customers, prospects and media coverage. Selecting and supporting the right cause for your company can build profit, brand equity, as well as employee and customer loyalty, while improving the world. So, what could be better than that? About The Author - Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR, http://www.hoover-ink.com/. He has 26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Carolinas AGC, New World Mortgage, North Carolina Tourism, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX and Verbatim.
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
First to Market Theory AGE OLD QUESTIONBusiness scholars throughout the planet keep asking the same question and have come to the conclusion that being first into the market place is preferable. Preferable to what? They say every product has a life cycle? What about milk? If that is true and many academia will classify products and services in order to make a point and simply lump them all together. Trade Show Marketing - Getting Prepared for the Big Event With the increase in number of tradeshows being held across the world, it has become imperative to check the trade shows' credentials before you commit participation. Here are some quick tips on checks to ensure that you are not heading for a dud trade show:1. Are Your Marketing Efforts Working...Or Could They Use A Little Help? Marketing is a broad business subject that encompasses a range of activities including advertising, public relations, sales, and promotions. Generally, you will find that people often confuse sales with marketing, when in fact the two are quite different. Direct Marketing Puts Information In The Buyer's Hands Direct marketing is advertising from a manufacturer or front-end supplier directed to the ultimate consumer of a product or service. Another way of looking at direct marketing is selling to a consumer directly, whether is from a printed magazine campaign, TV or radio spot, or from a direct mail package. How to Use Flyers to Increase Your Business What benefits will you get from flyers?Flyers are much different from postcards in that they convey product sales to the consumer. Safeway, Costco, Albertsons and other grocery chains are excellent at putting out flyers. How Architecture Rendering is Part of the Impact Cartoons have gone from celluloid to digital. Movies have gone from cinematography to computer graphics imaging. 5 Tips to Heat Up Your On-Line Marketing Using Off-Line Tactics The internet of course brings a huge arena of marketing opportunities for you. The ability to do business with people around the world has now been made readily available through a web site and email. Don't Put All Of Your Eggs Into One Basket I vaguely remember a particular story from my childhood. It had something to do with transporting eggs to market. Promotional Magnets: Promotion that Sticks Some people are happy with just a business card. For others it's not enough to be glanced at once and packed away. Small Business Marketing Tip - Putting the Customer First. I am a great believer in the keeping to the basics - the totally obvious things that we all learn in Running Your Business 101, and then promptly forget. I often have people come up to me after a speech and say, "This is all blindingly obvious, just common sense. Sell Big Ticket Items Now! - 1 Simple Step To Keep Your Fears From Holding YOU Back First, some background on today's topic. I've had a terrible week. Let It Ring Telemarketing has its place in the marketing arsenal. But telespammers - like their digital counterparts in the email marketing world - really make it tough on the legitimate follow-up telephone call from a company with which you have a relationship. Did You Know Your Mind-Set IS Your Problem? How To Save Yourself From The Pits of Marketing Cyber Hell!"Your Mind-Set IS Your Problem!"Did you know that the one major thing that stands between You and Success is Your Mind Set? Yes it is true. Sometimes our "Own Stinkin' Thinkin'" gets in the way of our Success, or our ability to achieve success. How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 4 Let's continue to discuss the various marketing principles that are involved in "popcorn marketing":4. Engaging the "Senses" You may already know that people usually buy for 'emotional' reasons more than 'intellectual' reasons. One-A-Day Marketing Vitamins Is your business growing, or are you on a plateau in need of a boost to move up? I know that I always tell you it is best to have a positioning statement and a plan. But sometimes, you just need something to get you off square one. Rising Postal Rates? Don't Cut Down the Direct Mail The United States Post Office in the past had some trouble with its finances and their solution was to raise the postal rates. Whether or not you agree with this approach to trying to stay in business, like the weather and government in general, it's something you have to live with. Identify The Ideal Target Audience With These 5 Tips Narrowing your focus to one primary group of people is often difficult for small business owners. They want to help everyone - and very often their product or service CAN help a variety of people. Business Cards that Make Them CALL How would you use business cards for gift certificates?I asked at the beginning of this chapter "How many business cards do you need?" and answered that you only need one. Even though this is true when you are trying to form business relationships, it is not true when it comes to promoting your business. Direct Mail Strategy - Brand Identity Guru 1. Know your purpose: What do you want your direct mailer to accomplish? Do you want to be remembered? Do you want to educate prospects about benefits? Recently, Brand Identity Guru was hired to expand a clients direct mail efforts, so we created a direct mail piece to showcase our clients related capabilities. Two kinds of Advertising for a Marketing Strategy Advertising is the lifeblood of any business. If you do not learn how to advertise your products and services both efficiently and effectively, you won't be in business long.
|
| Domain Names | E Books | Email Marketing | Ezine Marketing | |
| Internet Marketing | Marketing | PPC Advertising | SEO | |
| Traffic Building | Web Design | Web Development | Web Hosting |
|
Home | Site Map | Traffic Building
| Free
Classified Ads | Free-For-All
Ads | Reciprocal
Links | Search
Engines | |
| Copyright © 2006-2007. The Highland Marketing Group. All Rights Reserved. |
|
| ||
|
Comment by George C. Leef, Director of Research
