Do you want your messaging to resonate with consumers on a deeper level? Cause marketing may be the key to achieving many of your business and marketing goals while helping your community.
Research indicates that cause marketing is increasingly relevant for businesses today, since two-thirds (66%) of consumers think brands should take a stand on social issues.
Of course, you may be wondering if cause marketing is right for your business. That's a valid question. You'll need to examine several factors to find the best answer for your brand, including your business objectives, core values, and target audience. Let's discuss a few vital questions to ask yourself as you explore cause marketing in more detail:
What are your business goals?
The philosopher Seneca once said of sailors, "when a man doesn't know which harbor he's making for, no wind is the right wind." Similarly, it's important to clearly define your business goals, to understand whether cause marketing will help you to reach them.
Cause-related marketing is effective for accomplishing many marketing objectives. For example, it can help you to increase brand awareness, strengthen brand position in your market, and foster customer loyalty. Ultimately, it may even help boost your sales. If these are the kind of goals you want to accomplish, then cause marketing may be right for you.
Which causes align with your business values?
It's important to select a cause that fits in with your brand's ethos and core values. As a simple example of how this might work, a cruelty-free vegan restaurant may naturally team up with an agency that finds homes for abandoned or abused pets.
You'll want to select a cause that doesn't contradict the values your business stands for. Supporting the wrong cause can be a bad look for your brand, and even "turn off" potential customers.
Who is your target audience?
Ask yourself some probing questions about your target audience if you’re trying to choose a cause for your brand to support. For instance:
- Who are you trying to target as customers?
- What are their demographics?
- Are they intensely concerned about any social issues?
- Will their advocacy affect their perception of your brand?
Cause marketing can be helpful in catering to a socially conscious audience that bases their purchase decisions, at least in part, on a brand's advocacy. Of course, if your audience doesn't really care either way, investing in cause marketing may not make financial sense.
How will you measure success?
It's important to have set metrics and goals to measure a cause marketing campaign's performance. Set KPIs for each initiative. Will they include engagement metrics, like shares and comments on social media? Or will you focus more on website traffic metrics, such as total number of visitors, time on page, and so forth?
Whatever the case may be, keeping track of such metrics will help you to understand how well your cause marketing efforts are working, and where adjustments may need to be made in the future to increase brand awareness or sales.
Can you make a meaningful impact?
One final factor to consider is how meaningful your impact will be on your cause of choice. Perhaps it's a cause your team is passionate about. If so, as a business owner, you may need to balance between advocating for the cause and making sound financial decisions for your company.
Ask yourself: What will it cost my business to promote this cause in terms of time, money, and other resources? How can my efforts effectively promote the cause?
Partner with Mid-West Family Southwest Michigan for your cause marketing needs
At the end of the day, whether cause marketing is the best investment depends on several factors unique to your business. For example:
- Does it align with your business goals?
- Does it align with your core values?
- How does your target audience feel about the cause in question?
- Can you measure success effectively?
- Can you generate a meaningful impact for the cause?
The answers to these and other questions should determine your final decision.
Mid-West Family Southwest Michigan is here to help if you’re ready to invest but unsure where to start. Our friendly team of experts can help your cause marketing campaign hit the ground running. Our solutions are customized to your needs and preferences, and they're designed to help them achieve the highest possible ROI from their efforts. Contact us today to learn more!
