How to Give to Receive? Guide to Cause Marketing

Support for non-profit initiatives ubiquitous amongst global giants across all industries proves two things; firstly, it does lots of good for local societies and secondly, it is an effective marketing tactic leading to growth of customer loyalty and more frequent interactions with a brand. In this post, we’d like to highlight the power of giving in modern marketing strategies.

What’s the point of cause-related marketing?

The omnipresent competition requires more than high-quality to stand out in the market niche. In such a reality, psychological marketing helps brands to create a competitive advantage and play with consumers in a way that we’re all vulnerable to.

The psychology of a social giving chain was enrolled in the last post about the indirect reciprocity concept. In short, many people are willing to make a purchase and donate if a cause is close to their esteemed values and on condition that their contribution will be noticed.

Let’s put some stats out to clarify the matter:

• 91% of global consumers are likely to switch brands to one that supports a good cause, given similar price and quality.

Moreover, support of social or environmental initiatives is reflected in the way consumers see these brands.

• 96% of global citizens will have a more positive image of that company.

According to the International Journal of Hospitality Management “one of the reasons making the consumer feel satisfied with the company is the knowledge and perception of its social responsibility”. These data show that brands’ engagement in social responsibility impacts customer experience which is a crucial factor in building loyalty.

• 94% will be more likely to trust that company.

Your visitors can trust you more thanks to a cause. The key to building such stats for your company is creating an omnichannel and transparent experience which make your support visible for customers. The way you express your support and report progress is just as important as the choice of the cause itself.

• 93% will be more loyal to the company (i.e., continue buying products or services).

While exploring the role of social responsibility in building customer loyalty, Martínez & Bosque claimed that companies should invest more in non-profit initiatives since consumers “tend to support and reward those companies that are perceived as socially responsible by developing the greatest loyalty toward them”.

Customers like to come back to brands they can identify with. Support of causes close to their problems and esteemed values increases the chances for long-term association and strong relationships with a brand.

Let’s assume you’ve decided to launch such a campaign in your marketing strategy. Here are some examples of promotions with a cause marketing in the frontline.

• Give a % of each purchase (e.g. 0,5% of each purchase for charity, like Amazon)

• Give one for free (e.g. give a free product to people in need every time a new order is made)

• Create dedicated campaigns (e.g. a special series of products or flash-sales with codes)

In the case of small businesses with sales strategies targeted towards local markets, it’s of primary importance to choose a cause close to your audience. Initiatives of local interest are a chance for small budgets to instil customer loyalty in the same way that Amazon and other global giants do.

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Report diligently

It’s far easier to engage customers in such campaigns if they can be continuously aware of progress and they feel like they are making a real, observable change. This is why the way you report and show appreciation is crucial to make such campaigns work. High observability of the campaign’s progress can be great encouragement to share by word-of-mouth and come back with more donations.

Giving a real example, we have to mention the Charity Water and their amazing emails. The organization delivers consistent reports to make their supporters feel the changes they’re making in real-time.