Patricia Baronowski-Schneider
Pristine Advisers
New York, NY
Patricia is CEO of Pristine Advisers, an IR/PR/Media Relations/Marketing firm with 33 years of experience working her way to starting her own Company a decade ago. She can be reached at pbaronowski@pristineadvisers.com
In today’s competitive world, businesses are facing unimaginable competition. Constantly they are on the lookout to find ways to stand out from the crowd and make a mark in the industry. In this era, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is picking up the race, and more and more companies are investing and putting their time into this business concept to stand out in the market. The most successful CSR campaigns tell a unique story of the business, which also includes good stakeholder feedback and positions the company as on top of their game on pressing social issues and how the revenue will be spent.
But before you design a CSR campaign, you first need to make sure that it is aligned with the brand image.
Below are the best ways you can design highly effective corporate social responsibility campaigns.
Build company’s strategy around competencies
There are many causes a business can choose to be a part of and support. Many pressing issues can get you the right reputation, but before you dive into something new, you should see what your business is good at already. Perhaps your company already has some strengths and knowledge in a particular area that you can utilize for your CSR campaign. Supporting a cause in that area will align with your business expertise and be a win-win for both the community and your business.
Recognize what matters to your customers
Yes, customers care what you support. If you look deeper into your client’s core values and issues close to their hearts, you can leverage that in your favor by supporting a cause that they care about. It can be a societal or environmental issue. According to a survey, it is seen that 87% of consumers would purchase from a company that is supporting the cause they believe in. It will keep your customers loyal to you.
Design CSR campaigns that make your workforce proud
When developing CSR strategies, you will also need to keep your existing employees and the potential ones in mind. It is seen that 64% of people care about what the company’s social and environmental commitments are before deciding to work for them.
Broaden your CSR definition
Indeed, CSR is majorly about reducing the impact on environmental resources, but consumers as well as businesses, have broadened the definition of a responsible company. Being a good employer, doing business in a way that benefits society, and creating offerings that ensure people’s well-being, investing in local communities and worldwide are all issues that consumers and businesses are looking out for.
Flexible to change
Even the best plans for CSR may need last-minute changes. Your CSR strategy needs to be very flexible to change with time, such as modifying budgets, redirecting time, or identifying nonprofit partners to launch new programs.
Conclusion
In this era, where there is cut-throat competition in the business world, you need to stand out in the market. One of the best strategies to do so is designing and implementing effective CSR campaigns. The companies must work on the issues for which people care about. It makes both employees and customers loyal to the business.
We are an award-winning Public Relations, Investment Relations, and marketing firm. We have also been featured in the media. If you are looking to design a CSR campaign for your business, contact us now, and we will chalk out a CSR plan for you that suits your interest the best.