In an era of sustainability and environmental consciousness, cause marketing is becoming the trendy marketing strategy for big corporations. Just recently, Pepsi announced that it will not be spending its $20 million advertising budget on Superbowl ads. Rather, the corporation will be spending that money in the community by offering grants of $5,000 to $250,000 to help community projects.
But is cause marketing a good small business marketing strategy?
Any business can benefit from cause marketing. The theory of “pay it forward” can come back to your business with increased sales and higher brand recognition, but only if you choose cause marketing carefully.
Pepsi, for instance, will be distributing their grants to organizations based solely on votes received on social media like Facebook and Twitter. Whether these causes are in line with Pepsi’s cause are debatable, since only the largest organizations with a wide network of contacts will receive votes. However, there are certainly other venues in which you can enact your cause marketing strategies.
Make the Cause Make Sense
In order for cause marketing to work for your small business, you must choose donation recipients carefully. An alignment of synergies and goals between your business and a charitable or non-profit cause can become a win-win situation for your cause marketing strategy.
Häagen-Dazs, for instance, donates to a cause it believes in by giving funds to “Help The Honey Bees” campaign. Since Häagen-Dazs uses only natural ingredients in its frozen product line, the honey bee cause is vital to keeping the business alive. Similarly, Sonic Drive-In restaurants are active in local communities. Thus, it donates to local teacher programs.
Donate to the Cause – Get Free Press
Can cause marketing be one of your small business marketing strategies? Absolutely! Just because your small business chooses to place marketing dollars toward good causes doesn’t mean you need to skimp on the publicity.
Cause marketing is an excellent opportunity for you to compose strategic press releases that can generate more in free publicity than you might get with paid advertising. News organizations want access to stories about how small businesses are treading through the economic crisis, and stories that combine that type of information with helping other charities or non-profits in need can become a media jackpot for your small business.
People who know about your cause marketing actions can feel better about buying your products or services. Your small business earns a better reputation and gains a higher profile with local, regional, or national communities.
Don’t be modest. If your small business has made cause marketing contributions to a local organization, say so and say it proudly. Through strategic cause marketing, your small business can gain more customers, and you spend less on acquiring each one.
If your small business is making an impact on the economy by being successful, consider sharing some of your success with your community. Look into cause marketing as a way to give back to society, further your branding, deepen your customer base, and increase your bottom line.
