Cause-Related Marketing

by: Nandang S Nugraha | Total views: 45 | Word Count: 934 | View PDF | Print View

 by: Steven Van Yoder

Altruism. Corporate responsibility. Philanthropy. These
are often used to describe cause-related marketing, an activity in
which businesses join with charities or causes to market an image,
product, or service for mutual benefit.

Embracing a cause makes good business sense. Nothing
builds brand loyalty among today's increasingly hard-to-please
consumers like a company‚s proven commitment to a worthy cause. Other
things being equal, many consumers would rather do business with a
company that stands for something beyond profits.

Powerful marketing edge

Cause-related marketing can become a cornerstone of your
marketing plan. Your cause-related marketing activities should
highlight your company's reputation within your target market.
Cause-related marketing can positively differentiate your company from
your competitors and provide an edge that delivers other tangible
benefits, including:

• Increased sales
  

• Increased visibility
  

• Increased customer loyalty
  

• Enhanced company image
  

• Positive media coverage
  

By choosing a cause you are passionate about, cause-related
marketing is emotionally fulfilling. It's a way to merge your profit
center with your "passion center" and build a business that mirrors
your personal values, beliefs and integrity. If your cause also
resonates with your target market, your activities will generate
tremendous goodwill and media attention can be its side effect.

Real-World Success Story

Cosmetic dentist Mark McMahon made himself a media
mini-celebrity with a thriving practice due in part to his high-profile
pro bono work in his community, a strategy that landed him radio and TV
appearances in areas where he worked.

McMahon established partnerships with local charities,
including a homeless shelter and a shelter for battered women, and
offered free dental services to their members. Before each event, he
contacted local media and let them know what he was up to. Several TV
crews showed up, filmed him treating patients, and later aired the
segments on the evening news.

"These events were surprisingly easy to arrange, and
every year, they'd help us get press simply by doing these charitable
promotions," McMahon says. "Local television news stations loved the
emotional element. And it was obviously rewarding to see patients after
we'd treated them who'd been in pain for months talking about how glad
they were to be relieved of their toothaches."

Another project involved the Delancey Street Foundation,
a residential education center for former substance abusers and
ex-convicts. "I agreed to treat some of their members' acute dental
needs," McMahon says. "I quickly appreciated the media appeal of
transforming the appearance of these rough-looking guys with terrible
smiles."

McMahon captured the event with before and after photos.
"These guys had missing teeth and terrible smiles," he says. "So I had
a professional photographer capture before pictures of these guys in
street clothes with their snarling faces. After I fixed their teeth, we
took more pictures, but this time dressed the guys in suits and ties,
now looking like lawyers and accountants, with me sitting right in the
middle. The media loved it, and it was great seeing these men looking
like new."

McMahon's TV appearances created name recognition.
"After I did the story on a local television show, I was recognized in
my gym by a masseuse who had seen the show," McMahon recalls. "She
said, 'I was thinking about you this morning while I was flossing my
teeth.' She became a great source of referrals."

(Excerpted from the book Get Slightly Famous: Become a
Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort, by
Steven Van Yoder)

Getting Started

Cause-related marketing yields mutual benefit. Look for
partners with a similar agenda whose goals can be better achieved by
partnering with your business. Take inventory of the assets that make
you an appealing partner in a cause-related venture.

There are many types of mutually beneficial
relationships you can form with your cause-related partner, including
special events, sales promotions and collection plans. An easy way to
embrace a cause is to team up with a charity.

Whenever Johnny "Love" Metheny, a slightly famous
nightclub owner in San Francisco, opens a new club, he shares the
limelight with a local charity. "I have a history of including the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in my grand openings," says Metheny,
who was voted the society's Man of the Year in 1991. "It's not only
something I feel good about, but it helps us market our businesses to
the community and media at the same time."

Volunteer with an organization. When Eunice Azzani, an
executive recruiter, volunteered to serve on the board of the San
Francisco AIDS Foundation, she didn't anticipate that it would connect
her with executives from Mervyn's, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo
Bank, all of who eventually hired her to work for them.

"People don't hire a piece of paper or a process. They
hire people they trust," Azzani says. "Volunteering for a position at a
local organization makes you very trustworthy." She advises business
owners to target causes they believe in. "If you're helping with a
cause you believe in, people will see that you care. And they'll
realize you will probably care as much about your work."

As your partnership takes shape, become ambassadors for
each other. Talk about the charitable organization and have flyers
available. Promote the organization (and your partnership) on your
website and in your newsletters. Ask your partner to extend the same
courtesies to you.

Never lose the marketing focus of your community
partnership efforts. Even though the work is philanthropy, your cause
should generate interest in your company and motivate people to buy
from it. Select a cause that is important to your target market, and
make sure your target market sees that connection.

About the Author

Steven Van Yoder is author of Get Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort. Visit http://www.getslightlyfamous.com to read the book and learn about 'slightly' famous teleclasses, workshops, and marketing materials to help small businesses and solo professionals attract more business.

steven@getslightlyfamous.com

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