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Boost Your Business by Giving Back
The Case for Cause Marketing

By Melissa Wall

Linking your brand to a nonprofit or charity – often referred to as “Cause Marketing” – can be a win/win for your business and the community at large.

Back in 1983, American Express created a campaign in which every time a cardholder charged an item, a penny was donated towards restoring the Statue of Liberty. Several million dollars were raised to give Lady Liberty a much needed facelift and Amex received lots of glowing press coverage plus increased sales. Today, businesses spend over $1 billion on such causes.

The keys to a successful campaign are:

Selecting the Right Cause. You need to align your company with a cause that fits your business, your interests and your budget. Understand your target markets and select a cause that will elicit positive response from your customers, your employees and the media. 

Honest Concern. Don’t select a cause just because it sounds good. Phony concern will show through and work against you.

Clearly Defined Expectations. As with any marketing campaign, define your expectations. What do you expect to get out of the partnership? Non–tangible benefits include company awareness, credibility, improved customer loyalty, employee pride and retention. Tangible benefits could include increased sales and greater news coverage. Create a set of metrics to test the pre–and post cause marketing campaign.

 

For more information about how cause marketing can play a role in your overall marketing program, contact Melissa Wall, Principal, Marketing With Distinction, LLC, 203–888–9995, melissa@distinctmarketing.com 

Tongue in Cheek Department
How to avoid business opportunities: Ten steps to certain failure
By Martin Arnold

There are a great many books, courses and articles aimed at consultants on securing new business. The problem many of us face—particularly in marketing and PR—is that most of the requests we get are opportunities to give away our services for free! 

We are not saying there are not just causes coming in from business associations, community activities and social service agencies. But we soon get overwhelmed with requests and with unpaid work assignments.

What is needed is a list of ways to avoid such business opportunities! Unfortunately in practicing them we give up paid gigs as well. However, if one finds himself over-committed to unpaid assignments it may well be worth the lack of effort.

  1. Drop all association memberships. Cutting off these connections is the first step to non-success.

  2. Avoid social events where business people are present. This will help keep you out of the loop.

  3. Take on a few volunteer assignments, then don’t do them. Let the word go forth that you are not a do-gooder.

  4. Burn your business cards, trash your Web site, turn you marketing materials into cat litter. That way only a few felines will ever see your name in print.

  5. Never return a call from the media. In that way you will not be perceived as expert in anything.

  6. Never issue a news release. That way the media definitely won’t call and you won’t be bothered by those who see your announcements.

  7. Don’t advertise your services. Not advertising is a surefire way to avoid any opportunities coming your way.

  8. Stop making group presentations. This only encourages follow up calls from attendees.

  9. Don’t join a leads group. The last thing you need are others in the workplace finding you new opportunities.

  10. Never attend business meetings. This will ensure that people will forget all about you.

Not convinced that these ideas will bring you the lack of success you want? Try them and see. Better yet, if you are actually seeking new prospects, reverse each one.

 

** This article also appeared in the January 2007 issue of Business Matters published by the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce in Shelton, Connecticut.


To boost your business and learn more about our coaching service and ebook for entrepreneurs, email Martin Arnold mharnold@sbcglobal.net.

Pro Bono Work: It’s Not Just For Lawyers

By Tori Brown

When you hear the words “pro bono” what do you think of? If you said a lawyer, you’re definitely not alone. Yet law firms are not the only type of business that does work for free. In fact, the idea of doing pro-bono work is becoming more and more commonplace and businesses from advertising agencies to computer companies are joining in.

So what does one get out of pro-bono work? Besides the chance to practice your skills, there are two other major benefits to doing pro bono work: the feeling of “doing good” by helping out, and generating positive public relations for your own business.

Large companies like Deloitte, McGraw-Hill Companies and Pfizer all do pro-bono work, often on a very large scale. For instance, Pfizer helped start the Pro Bono Adoption Project, which helped provide the legal counsel needed to facilitate the adoption of foster children in NYC. The project generated tons of publicity and Pfizer was even awarded the special Golden Heart Award from the Commissioner for the Administration for Children’s Services.

But you don’t need a staff of thousands to start doing pro-bono work. All you need is a couple extra hours a month. To start, you need to let your clients or customers know that you are willing to do some pro bono work. Try putting a note on your website or mentioning it in a newsletter. And don’t be discouraged if you are not instantly inundated with requests for help; the very fact you are offering to do pro bono work improves your image, especially if you are in an industry that typically does not offer pro bono services.

Once you find a pro bono client to work with, it’s beneficial to both of you to publicize the partnership. The result is twofold: you can attract attention to your company and its values, as well draw attention to the cause you are helping out. Each year, Marx Communications typically takes on one pro bono client. Not only have we helped our clients gain publicity, but we’ve also gotten a real great feeling by providing that help at no cost. 

So roll up your sleeves and get started. There’s plenty of worthy causes out there that desperately need your help. And remember that the psychological rewards can often be greater than the monetary ones.

Tori Brown is an Account Executive with Marx Communications, a public relations and marketing communications firm that helps B2B companies and individuals build their brands. For more information, please contact Tori tori@marxcommunications.com or 203-445-2851. To boost your business and learn more about our coaching service, email wendy@marxcommunications.com.