8 effective ways your start-up, nonprofit or B Corp can do good which will attract more customers
Do good things and good things will come back to you.
Research is consistently showing that consumers are willing to pay more for brands committed to making a positive social impact. 2 in 3 consumers in fact. On top of that consumers are 4x more likely to buy from a purposeful brand. These are insane numbers and continue to prove that it really pays for brands to actually do good in the world. But how can your brand go about it? Where’s the best place to start? We thought we’d get the ball rolling for you.
Here are 8 effective ways your startup, nonprofit, charity of B Corp brand can help make the world a better place, which will attract more customers.
1 - Partner with charities
It may sound simple but, well, it is simple. Partnering with a charity is a great way to give back. Whether that’s through a cut of your profits, using your platform to raise awareness for a charity, providing a charity with products they can use to raise money, or even giving a charity free space in your office to work from. Charities have lots of needs they need fulfilling. So go find one that aligns with your brand and see how you can help them. This will resonate hugely with consumers. They’ll feel good associating themselves with you.
2 - Run your ads through Good-Loop
Good-Loop is actually one of our clients and they are bloody brilliant. They’re an advertising media company with a difference. They take your brand’s existing content, pop it in their bespoke online media players and then, every time the public watches your content, it unlocks a free donation to charity. Yep that’s right. It turns your brand’s advertising into donations for charity. Now that’s giving back. And consumers love brands for it. They’ve got the proof. Take a look here - www.good-loop.com
3 - Get certified B Corp
You may have heard more companies are now becoming B Corps. In the words of B Corp UK – “Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.” Basically, you prove you’re one of the good guys from top to bottom. The B Corp logo is quickly becoming a stamp of trust. And to be able to have it next to your name is a huge win for consumers. Take a look - https://bcorporation.net/
4 - Switch to sustainable company partners
Consumers are switched on more than ever these days and with that comes an even greater understanding of how your brand/business works and the companies you work with. They really want to know you’re doing everything above board and not doing any dirty deals behind their back. Otherwise they’ll take their money elsewhere. So do your brand and business a favour and associate yourself with companies who take sustainability and being kind to the planet seriously. You’ll get huge brownie points from customers.
5 - Sign up to One Percent For The Planet
Ah, this one is a beauty. Set up in 2002 by the founders of Patagonia and Blue Ribbon Flies, the concept of One Percent For The Planet is simple – businesses commit to giving 1% of their annual sales to approved environmental nonprofits. It might seem like a small number – which actually means it should be easy for any business to commit to – but when you add up all those one percents from businesses around the globe, it leads to a really tidy sum that can help solve the biggest issues our planet is facing today. Say, $295 million? And counting. Go and be a brand on the right side of history. Consumers will thank you. Check it out here – https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/
6 - Invest in diverse talent
Since we saw thousands of people take to the streets in support of Black Lives Matter, plenty of brands came out publicly to show their support. And yet, you only had to peek behind the curtain to see they were doing absolutely nothing to bring equality into their own companies. Us able-bodied white middle class folk have got good at being totally ignorant. So invest in diverse talent. Run workshops on diversity and inclusion. It’s not to look good, but to make your company and brand better. Diversity brings new perspectives, new ways of looking at things, new ways of solving problems. Diversity makes your company better. And in turn strengthens your brand as a wholly inclusive community. So just do it. We recommend speaking to the wonderful ladies at The Other Box if you need help and advice - https://www.theotherbox.org/
7 - Invest in your local community
Community is, without question, central to human beings. When we see anyone or anything helping to make a community better – not even necessarily one we’re part of – we instantly feel a huge sense of gratitude. Your brand needs to get in on this by investing in your local community. It could be partnerships with local businesses, helping to fund local projects, offering jobs and internships locally, sponsoring the local sports teams. It won’t just strengthen your bond with your community, but it will send a clear message to consumers that you are a brand that really, truly cares about being good from the ground up. That is gold in the consumer world right now.
8 - If you do any of the above, let the world know.
That’s where you’ll get the payback. Currently we’re seeing too many brands give it the big song and dance about how they ‘care’ about doing good, but they actually don’t do anything at all. All words, no action. Consumers do not like it and become very vocal on social media about it. They also tell friends and family directly. However, brands that are actually proving they do good are the ones consumers are attracted to. So, if you do go and achieve any of the above ways, use your platforms to tell and show people what you’re doing. We wouldn’t recommend bragging about it. After all, doing good should be standard. But be proud to be a brand that really is caring. It will attract more customers. It will grow your brand.
At Kireli, we are the purpose-driven branding and communication studio designed to help start-ups, nonprofits, charities and B corps unlock their full potential. If that sounds like the ethos of your start-up, nonprofit, charity and B corp, and you’re looking for a creative agency that also believes in doing good, get in touch. Let’s see how we can make the world a better place together – hei@kireli.studio