What’s the Cause?

How do you decide what to support? Whether it is personal or professional, that is a hard question to answer. My belief is you need to go where the passion lies. If it is something that has stricken you and your family, you may be more inclined to support the cause than if it was decided on Google. If that doesn’t do it for you, then ask your peers or team members at our company.

If you decide on a nationally recognized non-profit organization to support, find out who your local contacts are from that organization and set up a meeting. You will be pleasantly surprised that when you tell them of your intentions to support their cause in your marketing, they will get right behind you and offer tremendous assistance. You will find much the same from a locally based cause as well.

Once you have held initial meetings, the next step is to set goals for your marketing plan. Is this a year-long plan, is it a two week promotion, is it tied to the purchases of your company’s product, are you volunteering your staff to give time to the cause-just what is it you are trying to accomplish?

Now the fun begins. When you roll out your strategy and tactics toward reaching your goals. Set up a matrix and a tracking system, so that you know exactly how you did against your goals, and so you can reach for higher levels of support in your second year working with this organization.

Lastly, make sure that in addition to you supporting the organization, that the cause is of interest to the marketplace. You want your customers or potential customers to enjoy being part of the cause as well. Your customers may reach you to volunteer too. Welcome them with open arms and have fun developing new relationships.

What are your challenges when it comes to cause marketing? I look forward to hearing your comments. Until next time...