December 23, 2011
Boulder, Colorado
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend a timely workshop that brought to mind an overlooked opportunity, a missing piece in all my marketing.
You may or may not “resonate” with what I’m about to share with you, but if you do, I suspect you are fortunate indeed.
Simply put, somewhere in your business there’s a buried treasure in aligning your business with a cause.
Whatever your reasons for aligining with a cause, when consumers are faced with two different offers of equal value, the product or service from a business aligned with a cause they believe in wins.
A successful partnership with a purpose, cause and/or non-profit organization your business is aligned with not only provides opportunity to make a difference in the world, it can, if approached correctly, make a difference in profitability and the long-term value of your enterprise.
Here’s a very simple exercise you can do that will cost you nothing and brings the added benefit of increasing your satisfaction with and passion for your business, as well as boosting sales and improving profitability.
Create a vision statement that reflects your deepest values. Or if you already have a vision statement, amplify it with the values you most cherish. Simple, right? Now, here’s the trick…
You have to prioritize and pick one, or two. It’s not like there aren’t many to choose from: environmental sustainability, education, economic development, free enterprise, saving and caring for children, reduction of poverty, finding cures for diseases like AIDS, cancer and heart disease, nutrition, wellness, peace, justice, supporting the arts, family values, etc., etc.
What appeals to you most? What could you do that goes hand in hand with your business and your core values?
It doesn’t have to be a logical connection either. For example, in the preface to his book Twitter Power, Joel Comm invites readers to contribute to www.WaterIsLife.com. I mean, Twitter and water…?
That’s just one of several things you can do. You could also just talk about how what you do advances something you and your customers believe in.
One of our clients helps companies reduce their carbon footprint by helping them go paperless. They are selling efficiency, but making the planet a better place is an added value they wisely include in their core message.
Once you’ve identified your cause, let the world know about it. Just let customers and prospects know what you are doing to advance your values in the world and how they can benefit from it and get involved if they so choose.
You may turn off some, but most will love you for it. It’s not just good Karma – it’s good business.
Wishing you great peace and joy this holiday season… and always!
————————————————————————————-
Looking for a guaranteed easy, quick, and dirt-cheap way to put up facebook squeeze pages?
Check this out…
————————————————————————————-
“The best time to plant an oak tree was 25 years ago.
The second best time is today.”
– Chinese philosopher
