| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Cause-Related Marketing
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:
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.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Most Wanted Response... How To Make It Work "When I walked into the grocery store last Saturday, I was just 'browsing.' But. How to Make Profits With a Commission Mailing Business There are many mailorder publications that will list your nameunder this directory.. The Secret to Good Writing Skilful business writing involves getting your message across simply and quickly. This often means writing in a style that is easily read and understood by a broad audience. Can Message Board Marketing Work For You? One of the things that makes the Internet fun is all the message boards and forums. You can sound off about nearly anything, get and give advice, and even build a relationship or two. Direct Mail Postcard Rules It's a fact that your customers are your best leads. This means that the most likely people to purchase your products and/or services are the ones who have paid for them before. Sales and Marketing: Can One Exist Without the Other? Simply put the marketing people and the sales people depend on each other 100%. One cannot say that a marketing department is any more or less important then the guys who are closing the deals in the sales department. Sell Big Ticket Items Now! - 1 Simple Step To Keep Your Fears From Holding YOU Back First, some background on today's topic. I've had a terrible week. The Role of Marketing for Boards of Directors Small and emerging companies often do not put together a board of advisors or board of directors for many reasons. Some entrepreneurs believe that businessmen and women would not be willing to serve on their board of advisors for the little or no compensation that the new company can afford. Itchin For Some Nichin The whole idea of Niche Marketing is exciting! The possibilities are endless, as there are literally millions of people surfing the web, the vast majorities of whom are here for two reasons . . Top Four Marketing Secrets of Building a Professional Practice Building a coaching or consulting practice can be rewarding and lucrative. Sadly, many who get started on this path simply can't make it. Do You Have This Important Tool in Your Marketing Arsenal? Many business owners do not understand the authenticity and validation that a simple toll-free number adds to their business presence.It is particularly important that any business owner whose market is not exclusively local consider beefing up the image of the business with a toll-free number. The Benefits of a Marketing Plan What is a Marketing Plan? Marketing is to do with matching the features and benefits that your products and services are able to provide with specific customers and then telling those customers why they should buy them from you. Your marketing plan details how to do this. How To Get To The Top of The Marketing Food Chain Are you tired of living off handouts from big-name marketers, earning meager affiliate commissions?If you truly want to live and breathe the rarefied air of the super-marketers, what you need is not a change in method, but a change in attitude and mindset.You need to start thinking like a top gun and create your own identity instead of feeding off the efforts of others. Postcard Direct Mail Marketing: 15 Ways To Grab Attention If you use direct mail postcards to generate leads or sell a product or service, you need to create postcards that grab your prospect's attention. The place to do that is Side A, the side that doesn't have the stamp and address on it. Using a Marketing Calendar Template Owning a small business isn't easy, especially if you are running it alone. Between moving products, taking orders, paying bills, and taking care of family, it is easy to lose track of everything you need to do. Marketing Strategy - Whats Your System? Where Do Most of Your Clients Come From?Is it from your marketing and sales system?When I meet people for the first time and they understand that I'm a marketing consultant, I'm frequently asked, "Where do most of your clients come from?" Many times I believe the question is asked innocently enough. But, quite often I feel like the person asking wants to know if I have a magic answer that might work for them. Who is Your Perfect Client When I started my coaching practice I believed that I could coach anyone. My marketing wasn't targeted. Networking: The Cost of a Connection "Networking is a waste of time," said JoAnne, owner of a busy print shop. "Besides, I advertise in the daily paper. Target Your Share of the 50-Plus Market It's quite apparent that Americans are living longer--- and as people age, they request and require many more products and services than ever before. Now, as aging Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are coming of age, the fifty-plus population is over 77 million people and growing enormously all the time. Business Leads Anyone who runs their own business can tell you how challenging it is to generate business leads on a consistent basis. Finding good leads and generating more sales is vital to the long term growth of any business.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
