business trends  | by pasquale trozzolo

Put  A “Cause” In Your Marketing

In today’s fast-paced world, business owners and managers have many options to consider when it comes to marketing a service or product. Cause-related marketing may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but perhaps it should be.

The idea behind cause-related marketing is if you give the audience a chance to feel good about themselves, they’ll be more receptive to products and services. It also gives a for-profit company the chance to forge a relationship with a not-for-profit agency, which often leads to long-term profitable relationships for both.

Perhaps the simplest form of effective cause-related marketing is the person who stops grocery store shoppers at the door offering a flower for a donation to a local charity. Or the amusement park that partners with a local food bank, advertising the fact that for every ticket purchased, $1 will go to that food bank. This is ideal cause-related marketing. The theme park is seen as the “good guy,” so it receives visitors in droves, while the food bank gets the provisions it needs.

Cause-related marketing opportunities are not always obvious. Sometimes you have to create the right opportunity. For example, H&R Block came to our agency with a need to increase renewals of its TaxCut software. Each year, Block sends a mailing to customers who have purchased the software in the past inviting them to be the first to do so for the new tax season.

Block was looking for a spark to boost those all important renewal numbers. We reviewed past mailings as well as a research study Block had done. These tools enabled us to learn a great deal about the customer base. The research revealed that this group was highly likely to be involved in charitable endeavors and we suggested including a charitable giving option as a component of the renewal offer. When customers ordered the software, they had an option to donate $1 to their choice of one of four charities without increasing their purchase price. Block would in turn donate that dollar to the charity selected in the consumer’s name.

After two mailings sent to over two million people, the renewal rate for the software increased 40 percent from the previous year. The charitable giving campaign was just as successful, with Block donating over $100,000 to four charities in the name of TaxCut consumers. Not a bad little venture!

Do Your Homework.

Of course, before launching a plan that incorporates a cause, a meticulous market study should be done. asking such questions as:

• Does the target audience (defined by age, location, gender, income) identify with the cause?

• Is it timely? (i.e. purchase this brand of blanket and we’ll donate one to local homeless shelters. This wouldn’t be quite as effective in July as mid-January.)

• Is the price reasonable?

• Is the product or service well matched to the cause?

If your intent is not genuine, your plan could backfire and simply be seen as a manipulative marketing tactic. Don’t presume that a charity will hook up with you. Most are very open to new ideas and offer active support, but they can be cautious. They have to protect their name, and therefore you must have permission to use their logo and image. Any such plan should be entered into as a partnership with the charity from the very beginning.

The success of any cause-related marketing campaign is achieved when everybody wins — the sponsoring company sells more products or service, the consumer feels good about the purchase, and the not-for-profit agency has more funds to advance its cause. It’s amazing to witness a successful cause-related campaign in action and a great thrill to have the opportunity to plan and implement such worthwhile efforts.