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Cause marketing is a strategy which is often used by companies to attract consumers to their products, and with good reason. According to a recent corporate social responsibility study by Cone Communications about 92 percent of consumers, if given the opportunity, would buy a product with social and/or environmental benefit and 84 percent of global consumers would tell friends and family about a company's CSR efforts
Those are powerful statistics in favor of establishing a strategic corporate giving program and using cause marketing to bring it to your customer base. But consumers aren't the only group that can benefit from and appreciate a well-executed cause marketing campaign. Consider these statistics:
A job where employees can make a very good impact is important to the employees happiness, and a study from Rutgers University found that more than 50 percent of workers and more than 70 percent of students agree that a meaningful job is highly important, ranking third in importance and only slightly less important than marriage. When the engagement level of a workplace with 10,000 employees is increased by a mere 5 percent, the estimated profits can increase by as much as $40 million, according to one recent study.
Improving the engagement of your workers at every level of your organization should be one of the goals of the cause marketing campaign from its inception. This is done by discussing the business strategy and the range of potential causes that will come with this strategy, and from there, produce a decision making framework where everybody can participate and also support.
Of course, it is unlikely that 100 percent of your employees will wish to participate, but creative planning can make giving much easier for employees. There are many different options to consider that will keep the level of participation in your cause quite high.
A creative option can be donating a percentage of company profits to a local homeless shelter that the company supports, and this can be a good example. Automatic deduction donations made by employees through payroll deductions can provide an easy way to give. Two employees spending half of their day at work working at the shelter each week can also be arranged by the company.
In addition these ideas, you could organize a company-sponsored 5K run to raise money for the shelter. Other options include donating company gift certificates as prizes for the shelter's annual silent auction or offering special prizes to employees who volunteer at the shelter on their own time.
An empowered employee will be an engaged employee. When someone gets excited about a cause, it's natural that they want to share it with others. Online social networks make that natural desire thousands of times more powerful than it was in the past. You can take advantage of that fact and engage your employees in the process by encouraging them to share information about your cause marketing activities with their Facebook friends or Twitter followers, and especially to tout their own part in it.
You can do this by making an example of your cause marketing campaign and giving this strong exposure on the social networks and your corporate channels, especially when including the giving of employee recognitions where they will get inspired to share on their own social networks.
While employee engagement can be improved quickly and can yield nearly immediate results, it can disappear just as fast. Make sure that your cause marketing and employee engagement plans aren't just a passing fad.
The goal is a long-term investment in a charitable cause and the engagement of employees for a long time, as well. Employees that are engaged in long-term charitable programs tend to be more satisfied with their jobs and continue to work on improving productivity and this enthusiasm can be contagious, fostering a more collaborative team atmosphere at all levels of your company and this type of camaraderie also is quite attractive for new hires.
Those are powerful statistics in favor of establishing a strategic corporate giving program and using cause marketing to bring it to your customer base. But consumers aren't the only group that can benefit from and appreciate a well-executed cause marketing campaign. Consider these statistics:
A job where employees can make a very good impact is important to the employees happiness, and a study from Rutgers University found that more than 50 percent of workers and more than 70 percent of students agree that a meaningful job is highly important, ranking third in importance and only slightly less important than marriage. When the engagement level of a workplace with 10,000 employees is increased by a mere 5 percent, the estimated profits can increase by as much as $40 million, according to one recent study.
Improving the engagement of your workers at every level of your organization should be one of the goals of the cause marketing campaign from its inception. This is done by discussing the business strategy and the range of potential causes that will come with this strategy, and from there, produce a decision making framework where everybody can participate and also support.
Of course, it is unlikely that 100 percent of your employees will wish to participate, but creative planning can make giving much easier for employees. There are many different options to consider that will keep the level of participation in your cause quite high.
A creative option can be donating a percentage of company profits to a local homeless shelter that the company supports, and this can be a good example. Automatic deduction donations made by employees through payroll deductions can provide an easy way to give. Two employees spending half of their day at work working at the shelter each week can also be arranged by the company.
In addition these ideas, you could organize a company-sponsored 5K run to raise money for the shelter. Other options include donating company gift certificates as prizes for the shelter's annual silent auction or offering special prizes to employees who volunteer at the shelter on their own time.
An empowered employee will be an engaged employee. When someone gets excited about a cause, it's natural that they want to share it with others. Online social networks make that natural desire thousands of times more powerful than it was in the past. You can take advantage of that fact and engage your employees in the process by encouraging them to share information about your cause marketing activities with their Facebook friends or Twitter followers, and especially to tout their own part in it.
You can do this by making an example of your cause marketing campaign and giving this strong exposure on the social networks and your corporate channels, especially when including the giving of employee recognitions where they will get inspired to share on their own social networks.
While employee engagement can be improved quickly and can yield nearly immediate results, it can disappear just as fast. Make sure that your cause marketing and employee engagement plans aren't just a passing fad.
The goal is a long-term investment in a charitable cause and the engagement of employees for a long time, as well. Employees that are engaged in long-term charitable programs tend to be more satisfied with their jobs and continue to work on improving productivity and this enthusiasm can be contagious, fostering a more collaborative team atmosphere at all levels of your company and this type of camaraderie also is quite attractive for new hires.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup likes writing about philanthropic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. For more examples of corporate social responsibility, or to find help setting up a corporate charitable giving program, please check out the Truist.com website today.
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