4 Min Read You’ve probably heard the words ‘corporate social responsibility’ before, but do you know why it’s important for business? Keep on reading to find out.
What is corporate social responsibility?
Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is a business model that highlights the importance of brands conducting their business in an ethical manner. This covers everything from the day-to-day operations, to what happens out in the world. Many brands weave their CSR activities into their overall brand, so it’s important to really think through how you want to make an impact.
Why does CSR matter?
CSR can help people to develop a good impression of your business. It shows the public that you want to give back to the community, not just make money, and people appreciate it when a business goes the extra mile. Creating that kind of positive brand association is very important for maintaining loyal, long-term customers.
As well as this, CSR can also help you to drive home your USP. For example, if you want to stand out as being an eco-friendly brand, then you should make the effort to invest in environmentally friendly packaging. You could also source your products sustainably, or offer a certain percentage of revenue to a nature protection trust or charity. Thinking local? Sponsor a local sports team or volunteer in your community. There are plenty of ways to help out and you don’t have to spend a lot of money.
Finally, operating in a socially responsible manner can even increase investment into the business. This is because, through improving public relations, you will increase trust in the brand. Trust is unbelievably important to potential shareholders – they want to know that they will get a return on their investment, after all.
So, now that you know what corporate social responsibility is and why it matters, here are a few ways that your company can take part.
Ways your business can make an impact
- Source your products ethically (Fairtrade, vegetarian or vegan, cruelty-free)
- Give back to your community (Sponsor local group, volunteer in the local area)
- Be environmentally friendly (Source organic, sustainable or recyclable products/packaging)
- Be transparent with your audience (Show your supply chain, detail how you’re improving)
- Support a charity (Ideally a charity that is related to your business goals)
eclipse marketing’s partnership with West Cheshire Foodbank
We are the marketing partners for West Cheshire Foodbank, an organisation that aims to stop food poverty in the West Cheshire area. Thanks to them, over 3,000 people were able to access emergency food when they needed it most in 2018.
We reached out to the foodbank with the intent of volunteering our services and we are incredibly pleased that they accepted our offer. Being a marketing agency in Chester, we believe that providing marketing help to the charity is our way of giving back to the community, and our aim is to increase awareness of the foodbank and what they do. In turn, they raise awareness of our business, so we both benefit from the partnership.
This work costs us only our time, so it’s easy to see how you could implement some CSR into your business’ strategy with very little investment. The possibilities are endless and so there’s bound to be a venture to suit your company’s goals.
Stuck on how to implement CSR into your business strategy?
If you have no idea how to put any of this into place, why not give us a call? We work with multiple companies to improve their PR and raise public awareness of the brand. With our team of creative minds and strategic brains with years of experience in B2B and B2C communications, you’ll be reaching new business heights before you know it.
Send us an email at [email protected] or call our office on 01244 347 545. We’d love to chat with you about your business objectives and how we can help.
