Corporate Social Responsibility & the marketing thereof

Did you know that being responsible is directly tied to purchase, with 51% of consumers wanting to reward responsible companies with their business, and 53% saying they would pay a premium for products from a responsible company. 

If you are not 100% certain on what exactly CSR entails, herewith two definitions to broaden your horizon:

• According to the Harvard Kennedy School, “Corporate social responsibility encompasses not only what companies do with their profits, but also how they make them. It goes beyond philanthropy and compliance and addresses how companies manage their economic, social, and environmental impacts, as well as their relationships in all key spheres of influence: the workplace, the marketplace, the supply chain, the community, and the public policy realm”.
• Another excellent definition on CSR done by The Institute of Directors (2002), “CSR is about businesses and other organizations going beyond the legal obligations to manage the impact they have on the environment and society. In particular, this could include how organizations interact with their employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which they operate, as well as the extent they attempt to protect the environment”.

Recently, I came across a great article that showcased two examples on how companies directly influenced consumers. The reason for highlighting this to you is that it serves as a perfect example on how companies are becoming the rules of the world, bear with me here:

• HubSpot recently announced opening offices in Ireland. For them, the decision was purely to expand the business but on the other hand, new job opportunities was at the forefront of discussion in a country, hundreds of miles away which affected people they have never met.
• Steve Jobs hated flash and therefore none of the Apple products were developed to accommodate flash as a component. Through this tactic, intentionally or not, he has altered the market through his decision to restrict.

You may ask, what is the purpose of your article and what relation does it have with marketing? Well, think about it, who created content about the new offices in Ireland and who communicated that flash wasn’t compatible with any Apple product? The answer: marketing! Therefore, corporate social responsibility should play a fundamental part in any marketing strategy due to the fact that being seen as socially responsible could be used as a PR strategy to help increase revenue.

But, before you go and paint the offices green, it is important to keep in mind that CSR should focus on areas of direct relevance to your company’s sphere of operations. CSR is not about pursuing your CEO’s pet interest and ‘saving the seals’. Although ‘case-related marketing’ and ‘strategic philosophy’ forms part of an element of CSR, they are not central components of the CSR of your company. CSR has been implemented to enhance the success of the company because of its relevance, rather than representing something unconnected to its core business.

I sincerely hope that you’ve found this article interesting – feel free to post your comments or thoughts.

Pointers in redesigning your website

A website is pivotal for any business success as you need a presence to reach buyers in this internet age that we live in, therefore creating another avenue to generate revenue by attracting more customers. A great website can contribute to the formation of a positive attitude towards an online store, increase stickiness and revisit rates, and can stimulate online purchase. Should you be in a position to either redesign or revamp your current website due to either rebranding, making it more user-friendly or simply moving to a new Content Management System (CMS), you need to follow the suggested pointers below:

1. Benchmark your current metrics through Google Analytics if you don’t have access to this information (number of visitors, time spend on site, domain authority, number of new leads, bounce rate etc.);
2. Set your goals to determine for example, what the reason is for the redesign, what you would like to achieve (increase traffic) and how you are going to achieve it;
3. Determine which channels drive the most traffic to your site (buyers vs. browsers, organic vs. paid along with social media measurement);
4. Complete a full competitor analysis as you need to know what they are doing out there to benchmark yourself;
5. Identify your competitive advantage or your unique selling proposition to set yourself apart and also to focus on that during the redesign process;
6. Choose your colour of the site as usability is no longer the ultimate goal for designers as sites must also incorporate aesthetic value along by injecting a little fun and pleasure into their visitor’s lives;
7. Design your site by focussing on personas because your website should speak to buyers, and not just to you;
8. Optimise your site (search engine optimisation) by focussing on the content and who is linked to you);
9. Implement an on-going content strategy which may include blogging, press releases, social media etc.);
10. Just remember, the website quality, system quality, service quality and information quality plays a major role in the attitude of potential buyers therefore, ensure to blow their minds once on your site;
11. Website usability is yet another factor that you should not leave in the dark during this whole revamping process:

• ease of understanding the structure of the site, its functions, interface and the contents that can be observed by the user;
• simplicity of use of the site in its initial stages;
• the speed with which the users can find what they are looking for;
• the perceived ease of site navigation in terms of time required and action necessary in order to obtain the desired results;
• the ability of the user to control what they are doing, and where they are at any given moment.

Lastly, don’t forget about the analytics as you would like to see when and who visits your site.

Good luck with your revamping of your site and may you end up high on the Google ranking pages!