Part 1 of a two part series on ‘How to Leverage Your Company’s Social Cause and Increase Business’
A Sand Shack volunteer event in Cape Cod, MA. Don't just say you support something, actually DO something to support it.
Never before have start-ups focused as heavily on various social causes as they do now. For many young entrepreneurs launching their first company it is almost obvious to them that they need to help the world while building their company. The new generation of entrepreneurs has (so far) successfully mixed conventional and social entrepreneurship, creating hundreds of thousands for-profit companies with strong social causes embedded in their DNA. People realize more than ever that a company does not have to be a nonprofit organization to accomplish a lot of good. In fact, attaching your company to a social cause not only has the potential to help the world but your bottom line as well.
If your company is to have a social cause, as an entrepreneur you should be able to leverage it and increase business as a result of it. But, an important thing you must first understand is the difference between leveraging a cause and exploiting a cause.
Leveraging a cause is NOT exploiting a cause.
The above statement is directed towards two different types of people.
The first type of person doesn’t like to use their company’s social cause to increase business because they are afraid they will be exploiting the cause and looked down upon. These types of people need to realize that using their social cause to increase business is not only good for their company, but also good for the cause they support. The larger their companies get the more help and exposure they can provide for their associated cause. This is not exploitation.
The second type of person the above statement is directed towards are those who blindly associate their company with a cause and make false statements and promises that play off the emotions of the public in an effort to increase business. This is exploitation. If a company associates themselves with a cause they better intend on actually doing something meaningful for it.
When I first started Sand Shack I did not immediately associate my company’s social cause with the conservation of our world’s oceans and beaches, however, it was something that I very quickly realized I wanted to do. I grew up in Singapore, which is a tiny (but very powerful) island nation in Southeast Asia. While growing up I traveled to countless countries, seeing both pristine beaches and waters and those strewn with waste and trash. From my life experiences I became very passionate about ocean conservation. So, shortly after starting Sand Shack I realized that the nautical inspired brand I was building and the markets that I was selling my products to would fit perfectly with a cause such as ocean conservation, a cause that luckily was in line with my passions. Hence, Sand Shack is now strongly associated with ocean conservation. Some of the things we do are organize and host volunteer ocean conservation events during the summer months and donate 5% of all company proceeds to ocean conservation outside the company to help ‘keep it blue’. Building Sand Shack around this cause has helped us distinguish ourselves as well as grow at a faster pace than we would without it. But the success of this association is due to a carefully thought out and planned strategy of how to leverage the cause without exploiting it.
So, when you are trying to figure out what social cause you want your company to be associated with, and want to be able to successfully leverage your cause without exploiting it, consider the following points.
1. Choose something you are truly passionate about
- If you choose a cause to support that you don’t care about, you will not only find it difficult to allocate time and money for the cause, but you may also find yourself exploiting the cause and making false promises and statements that you know people want to hear, rather than actually DOING things for the cause. I am truly passionate about ocean conservation, and therefore, it is a great cause for me to associate my company with.
2. Choose a cause that makes sense for your company to support
- The tobacco giant Phillip Morris is a real good example of a company that supports a cause that makes NO sense for them to support. Every year, Phillip Morris spends billions of dollars on youth anti-smoking programs while continuing to make hundreds of billions of dollars from the sales of cigarettes. Ok, I don’t smoke and certainly do not support the tobacco industry, but come on…do you really think that Phillip Morris wants to prevent teens from smoking? On the other hand, Sand Shack is a nautically inspired brand and is sold to stores in coastal resort regions…ocean conservation is therefore a great fit.
3. Choose something other people care about
- Although it would be great to support research and development of furniture that you can’t stub your toes on, it may not be well received by enough people to make it a cause that will help grow your company (although you may get some interesting PR from it). But at the same time I am not an advocate for associating your company with something that already has thousands of companies associated with; find something that people care about but that not too many people or companies are doing something for.
4. Do something big and meaningful for your associated cause
- Don’t just say, “We support the conservation of our oceans and beaches”, DO SOMETHING to show your support of ocean and beach conservation. And don’t just do something small, do something, big, bold, and press worthy. Do something that actually helps your cause. Remember, every time a story is written about your company and associated cause, it is not only good for your company, but it also helps build awareness for your cause. We give 5% of Sand Shack’s proceeds to ocean conservation efforts: 5% is a big number. We don’t give a portion of our proceeds, or 1 or 2 percent…we give 5%. It sounds good, and it is good for the cause.
If you decide to associate your company with a social cause think long and hard about what it is you want to support, because the cause you choose should not simply be something that receives a yearly sum of money from your company, it should be visible in every aspect of your company; whether that be the people who work for you, the products you sell, or the press you receive, your cause will become apart of the DNA of your company. Choose something you will be passionate and excited about for as long as you plan on running your company. Choose something that needs your support. Choose something that in the long run will increase your business and help grow your company.
Do you have a social cause associated with your company or are trying to figure out what social cause to associate your startup with? Let’s discuss them in the comment section.
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