People are loyal to the brands that share their values, making cause marketing crucial for most businesses today. With the help of cause-related marketing strategies, you can connect your brand to your customers through various causes aligned with your company's values.
One study found that 86% of people are more likely to buy from purpose-driven businesses, particularly those that share their values and beliefs. Additionally, 89% of executives have stated that companies leading with purpose gain a competitive edge.
Cause marketing is important for many companies, but you might wonder whether it's right for you. To help you determine whether you'll benefit from cause-related marketing, the following are some factors to consider.
The first item to think about is the types of goals you have. Cause marketing can help you achieve certain goals better than others. For instance, you can use cause marketing to boost brand awareness, sales, and customer loyalty. These are just some of the goals that effective cause marketing can reach.
If cause marketing is aligned with your goals, you should also ensure it aligns with your company values. Cause marketing is optimal if there's an issue reflective of your core values. For example, brands that sell sustainable products and work to preserve the environment will benefit from supporting certain environmentalist causes. Sustainable products are especially popular among younger audiences, with 64% of Gen Z and 63% of Millennials spending more on eco-friendly products.
Your business may support many potential causes according to your mission and values. You could support causes such as hunger, civil rights, education, and much more through sponsorships, donations, and other community events.
At Mid-West Family Springfield, we helped make a difference for a critical need in our market. Impact Life was in dire need of blood donations at the start of 2023. We wanted to help refill their blood bank so we planned and executed a “Give From The Heart” virtual blood drive on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. This all-day broadcast event didn’t stop there as we continued to ask listeners to schedule appointments for donations throughout the month of February. When the month came to a close, we accounted for 100+ appointments at Impact Life.
We even took this cause-marketing promotion one step further by including a long-time partner, Fritz & Kristy Pfister, The Pfister Success Team, Inc. of RE/MAX Professionals because this cause really hit home for Fritz since he was given a second chance at life after receiving donated units of blood.
You must also identify your target audience before planning a cause-related marketing campaign. If your audience is socially conscious and prefers brands that share their values, cause-related marketing is likely ideal. However, if your audience doesn't support a particular cause that you can pin down, you may not benefit as much from a cause marketing campaign.
To determine whether your audience would be responsive to cause marketing, conduct market research. Look into your audiences' interactions with various brands and see what values they express on social media and other platforms. Doing so will give you a better idea of whether cause marketing is worth the investment.
Like any other marketing strategy, you'll need the proper tools to measure your cause-related campaigns, including metrics and specific goals to track success.
The metrics you track depend on the goals you have. For instance, you may want to increase sales or customer loyalty, track income and purchases. Meanwhile, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, performance indicators like ad impressions, views, and website traffic can help you measure this.
To keep track of all metrics throughout your campaigns, you must have the right analytical tools, including Google Analytics and more. These solutions will enable you to effectively measure your success and indicate whether you need to make any adjustments to your campaigns. As you work on your campaigns and improve your cause marketing efforts, you'll find the best route to long-term success.
Another factor to consider is the kind of impact your cause-related marketing campaign could have. You'll want to increase customer loyalty and income with your efforts, but they should also contribute to a positive change that people see. If your campaigns truly have a positive effect on the cause you support, this will go a long way in gaining people's trust and business.
Keep in mind,it's no easy task when getting deeply involved in cause marketing. Your company will need to invest ample time, money, and resources to get real results. As such, you may decide you're not ready for that level of commitment, leading you to hold off on cause marketing in the meantime.
Ultimately, your individual circumstances and goals will dictate whether cause marketing is ideal for your business. By weighing your options, you can decide whether cause-related marketing will be a help or a hindrance to your business. While it may not be in your interests at this time to get involved in cause marketing, you should consider it for the future as your business grows and you acquire more resources.
Want to get into cause marketing or develop another effective marketing campaign? The professionals at Mid-West Family Springfield are here to help. Reach out to us today to discover what we can do for your business as you research cause marketing.