Retail Marketing Tip
Tip #383 - Cause Marketing Success Stories
Dear Tip of the Weeker,
The holidays are a fantastic time to do Cause Marketing events, so plan a
couple this holiday season!
Let me back up for just a moment and explain what Cause Marketing is, and
isn’t.
It’s not merely giving every Tom, Terry and Tony a donation check, gift
certificate, or item of merchandise and hoping that you'll get something in
return. It is creating a mutually beneficial partnership with a local
non-profit organization, a local cause. They send new customers into your
store (their supporters or members) and, in exchange, you donate cash or
services back to the group.
The amount you donate depends on how much their supporters spend in your
store. You write a check when, and only when, their members come into your
store and buy. If they send lots of new customers into your store who spend
lots of money, they get a big check. If they don't, they don’t.
It’s a real partnership. It’s a two-way street. A value-for-vaule exchange.
Here are three reasons why the holidays are the perfect time to do Cause
Marketing...
You'll get bigger numbers of new customers coming into your store. Unlike
other times of the year, people feel like they have to shop during the
holidays, so you're likely to get a higher response rate during a holiday
event.
You'll sell more. People naturally tend to feel generous and giving during
the holidays. And because their purchase is supporting a cause dear to their
hearts, they’ll tend to spend even more than they normally would.
You'll have more people to sell to once the holidays are over. Sure, you'll
probably be busy during the holiday season even without the Cause Marketing
events. But the more new customer information you can capture during the
busy 4th quarter, the more people you can contact about shopping with you
again once things slow down.
