Boost Your Business Via Social Responsibility

By Sebastian Troup


To make a shift to social and environmental responsibility companies are expected to implement changes in their business which causes quite a challenge to them given the "do more with less" reality of today. Even so, several businesses still opt to make that change - to do good and take pride of it in the workplace because return of investment becomes truly visible. With social responsibility comes an increase in the goal met by companies while at the same time making a difference.

When a company goes beyond the call for adhering to ethical and legal standards in its operations, then that is what you call corporate social responsibility or CSR. Causes are being promoted whether on the local, national or global level. It may be achieved via corporate philanthropy or donating some of the business profits or resources to charity.

If your company has a well-designed and accurately executed "giving program" you can have the competitive advantage through:

Improving name recognition Boosting brand reputation among consumers Increasing sales and positive consumer sentiment Assisting in efforts to recruit and retain talented employees for your company Improving the quality of life in communities where you do business

Consumers basically choose to buy from businesses with social responsibility as revealed by research. Public relations and marketing firm Cone Communications and Echo Research in their study early this year revealed that about 90% of the shoppers are inclined to shift brands in support of a good cause even when price and quality is similar. If your business is not socially responsible you are more likely to lose customers. Still 90% of the surveyed customers are willing to stop supporting businesses with irresponsible practices.

It is but the latest reminder that companies should get involved in social responsibility because customers look this from them. Mere selling products or services are now insufficient. Consumers look for business with real meaningful impact. And so, several business owners are starting to heed this. Social responsibility no longer remains confined within the public relations department because now companies are trying to integrate it into its whole operations. This commitment is now more evident in terms of the kind of jobs offered, kind of products manufactured and how resources are utilized.

CSR is not just a marketing move but a long-term investment as perceived by companies. An example is Coca-Cola with its company 5 x 20 program aiming to bring five million women into the business as local bottlers and distributors in the developing world come 2020. By investing on empowering young women entrepreneurs Coca-Cola's revenue will be increased as more bottlers will be added and so more products will be sold. On an additional positive note this investment will result in better-educated people and consequently more well-off communities particularly in areas in need of help.

CSR is being looked at by some companies as means to save money too. A good example is energy efficiency. On the social responsibility policy of Wal-Mart, it has three goals being - having a full supply of renewable energy, creating zero waste, and sales of products able to sustain people along with the environment. Maybe it appears that these goals are quite lofty, but when achieved, ultimately this translates into savings for the company.




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