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:
One recent study from Rutgers University, for example, showcased that 53 percent of employees that were interviewed and more than 70 percent of students that were interviewed want more than just a paycheck, they want to work for a company that supports important causes. For the students, working for this type of company was only slightly less important than getting married as a future goal. A Taleo Research analysis study also showcased the fact improving the engagement level of employees by a mere 5% in a large company with 10,000 or so employees could increase profits by more than $40 million.
The best way to create employee engagement through cause marketing is to involve employees from every level of the organization right from the beginning. Discuss the business strategy and outline a range of potential causes that fall in line with it, and then create a framework for making a decision that everyone can take part in and fully support.
It's impossible to settle on the perfect philanthropic solution that every employee can comfortably participate in. Get creative during the planning process and determine a few different giving options the company can offer in support of a cause.
For example, to support a local homeless shelter your company could donate a percentage of net profit to the shelter every year. A business also could set up a payroll deduction program to allow employees to automatically donate a portion of their paychecks to the shelter. Also, you could arrange for two employees to spend half a day working at the shelter each week.
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.
Maintaining employee engagement over the long term is far more effective as it encourages a loyal, knowledgeable and long-standing workforce that continues to increase in productivity and effectiveness. People who have been at a company for a long time tend to have better relationships with their co-workers, foster more collaboration within teams, and have a better chance of bringing new hires into the engaged fold as well.
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:
One recent study from Rutgers University, for example, showcased that 53 percent of employees that were interviewed and more than 70 percent of students that were interviewed want more than just a paycheck, they want to work for a company that supports important causes. For the students, working for this type of company was only slightly less important than getting married as a future goal. A Taleo Research analysis study also showcased the fact improving the engagement level of employees by a mere 5% in a large company with 10,000 or so employees could increase profits by more than $40 million.
The best way to create employee engagement through cause marketing is to involve employees from every level of the organization right from the beginning. Discuss the business strategy and outline a range of potential causes that fall in line with it, and then create a framework for making a decision that everyone can take part in and fully support.
It's impossible to settle on the perfect philanthropic solution that every employee can comfortably participate in. Get creative during the planning process and determine a few different giving options the company can offer in support of a cause.
For example, to support a local homeless shelter your company could donate a percentage of net profit to the shelter every year. A business also could set up a payroll deduction program to allow employees to automatically donate a portion of their paychecks to the shelter. Also, you could arrange for two employees to spend half a day working at the shelter each week.
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.
Maintaining employee engagement over the long term is far more effective as it encourages a loyal, knowledgeable and long-standing workforce that continues to increase in productivity and effectiveness. People who have been at a company for a long time tend to have better relationships with their co-workers, foster more collaboration within teams, and have a better chance of bringing new hires into the engaged fold as well.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup likes writing about philanthropic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. To get more examples of corporate social responsibility, or to help help setting up a corporate charitable giving program, please check out the Truist site today.
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