CSR

Steps to Effective Corporate Social

Responsibility

Usually, when you launch a business, you funnel your resources and energy into your company –
not into helping others. Yet we live in a time when many customers judge companies by their
demonstration of compassion and integrity. This has become such a fundamental aspect of the
business landscape that there’s even a name for such initiatives: Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR).

Check the websites of most major companies and you’ll see content highlighting the work
they’re doing to protect the planet or support their local communities. That’s because smart
businesses embed their charitable projects in their marketing plans, using their community
relations or sustainability efforts to engage customers and boost site traffic through clever
promotion.

Yet, while many big corporations have endowment arms, such projects can be a challenge for
startups that lack the budget for grand philanthropic gestures. But even a modest effort can pay
dividends in both positive publicity and customer loyalty. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Define your messaging. Don’t strike blindly at different goals, such as preserving
rainforests one quarter and then investing in a community project the next. Come up with
causes that resonate with your business culture, research the kind of support they need,
then pick one and stick with it. One is enough for a small business – and don’t feel
pressured to donate more funding or assistance than you can afford.
 2. Involve your customers. If you haven’t picked a cause yet, come up with a list of
alternatives and ask your web site visitors and Facebook fans to vote on which one they
would like to see you support. Or actively seek their assistance, such as bringing old but
usable technology into your store so that you can donate them to students in underfunded
schools. Make sure you offer a potential reward, such as holding a raffle for all
participants.
3. Create a scorecard. Make sure it features achievable and measurable goals and keep it
visible on your site, tracking your progress. Be honest about any setbacks – you want the
tone to be authentic, not promotional.
4. Use social media. Don’t just tell your customers what you’re doing; solicit their ideas,
experiences, and concerns to get them invested in your projects. Make sure you use
multiple digital platforms – such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and a YouTube channel –
to reach people with different media preferences.
5. Partner with a third party. Forming an alliance with a non-profit will not only lend
credibility to your efforts, but let you benefit from the non-profit’s greater experience in
fundraising and philanthropy. The alliance will also offer an opportunity to blend
customers and networks.
6. Seek publicity. If you’ve never sought media coverage for your business before, this
might be the time to start. Send out a press release about any contests, events or
fundraising drives – and reach out to media outlets that present on green topics as they’ll
be apt to give you positive coverage.
7. Repurpose your CSR reports. Using charts, stories, and photos in your annual reports
and newsletters will appeal to stakeholders and shareholders alike.

Most corporate social responsibility projects won’t deliver an immediate boost to your
company’s financial performance. But implemented sincerely and leveraged cleverly, they can
bring positive publicity, enhance your corporate reputation, and deepen customer engagement –
in addition to giving you the satisfaction of knowing you’ve truly assisted someone in need.

I agree that in modern society, a corporation or organisations popularity is

weighted by its social responsibility. However, this blog, which reads as a
‘how to’ guide to use Corporate Social Responsibility as a marketing strategy
misses the point of implementing these actions in the day to day business
model.

It seems
irresponsible to create a public persona based upon social responsibility when
behind the scenes; they are not fulfilling this obligation to the consumer.
Consumers now want to form a relationship with the industry wherein an open dialect
is created between stakeholder and organisation. The public are looking to have
a personal experience with corporations and by showing that they have an
interest in society and the environment; the organisations are essentially
personifying themselves to the public. This responsibility can be beneficial to
a company as being a sustainable enterprise can be cost effective as well as
boost popularity as it can be a distinguishing trait.

By focusing
on CSR as a marketing tool, you end up disregarding how a business can
implement strategies that diminish its impact on the environment and society
and therefore create a more sustainable business model without having to market
its efforts to the public. Being socially responsible also means to take care of
your employees and business partners. To be a socially responsible business I
believe you need to look at ways to factor this responsibility into your
business model, not just use it as a marketing strategy to boost your profile
with key stakeholders and solidify customer engagement.

It is
definitely true that greater emphasis is being placed on Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) being used as a marketing tool for big companies.
Marketing strategies have evolved from attracting new customers by enhanced
products and greater market shares to a “shift in thinking towards
consumers and social orientation, or adding value through social
responsibility” (Mersham et al. 2009, p.33).

Providing
social support locally has become the norm for corporations in New Zealand.
Looking at McDonalds as an example, it is a global fast food restaurant that
supports and fundraises for children’s sports. When you access their webpage
there is a whole area dedicated to their social responsibility which highlights their focus on
supporting Kiwi children. As a global company,
their charitable contributions will differ in each country but it shows they
are invested in their consumers at a local level. As it is considered a family
friendly eatery, it makes sense to focus their social campaign on children.

In recent
years there has been a spotlight on New Zealand’s obesity crisis, as a direct
result of this, McDonalds has now got a ‘Healthy Choices’ menu which offer
healthier alternatives to their standard burgers and fries menu. This shows
that they had researched into what social issues New Zealand was facing and
incorporated these into their business model. This example of McDonalds using
their CSR as a clever promotional tool highlights this bloggers idea of CSR as
a marketing strategy but expands further by incorporating it in to their day to
day business model.

Another company that integrates their CSR into their marketing strategy is Z
Energy, the latest New
Zealand petrol company. They highlight that
they are a New Zealand
company and push the fact that they ‘listen to New Zealanders’ in their
marketing campaigns. Their latest television advertisement states that they are
actively contributing to the New Zealand Superannuation fund and are therefore
focusing their marketing strategy on the large ‘Baby Boomers’ generation in
this country. On their website it states “You told us the idea of a New Zealand energy brand, run
by Kiwis and with
a heavy dose of New Zealand
attitude is compelling.” (https://z.co.nz/about-z/who-is-z-energy/).
This shows us they took the time to research their target audience and who
would benefit the greatest from their social obligations but still provide them
with profitability.

While both
McDonalds and Z Energy are prominent businesses in New Zealand, this blog does focus
more on smaller businesses. However, I
disagree in that they should use this CSR model as only a means to an end for
profitability. Using this model for profit building goes against the very idea
of being socially responsible and therefore sets up these small businesses to
be less socially engaging when they do start to turn a profit. The traits that
make an ethical person should be able to be implemented by a business. It is in
the best interests of a small business owner to engage with their community as
much as possible and the best way to do this is through community driven
philanthropy. Something as small as providing oranges for a local sports team
at half time can bring in a large number of new customers.

Therefore,
in response to this blog and its opinions, I would have to say that while yes,
using CSR as a marketing tool is beneficial; it needs to expand into the
business model to be worthwhile. Showing you are a socially responsible
business needs to be backed up by employing these traits in to the day to day
running of your company. This blogger centralizes CSR to just a marketing tool
when really its implications are wide and varied. Small businesses looking to
expand their social profile need only to look at these bigger corporations such
as Z Energy and McDonalds to see how being socially active has helped their
public persona and created greater revenue for themselves.