Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined as a company’s commitment to manage their business processes and the societal, environmental and economic effects of its operations. CSR is generally understood as the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives, while at the same time addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders. Let’s focus on how CSR can affect a company’s branding. It has been proved, time and time again, that social responsibility is an excellent way for a company to build its brand and reputation. When people talk about branding, the first things that popped into mind involve the use of logo, a tag line, and a unique name to represent the brand. This all tied to branding’s end goal: creating a distinct name and image for a company, business, organization, product, or service.
But in this context, branding involves creating social responsibility to achieve that distinction. A social responsibility program is necessary, which will be implemented in various relevant actions and campaigns. All these will then establish the brand’s presence in consumers’ minds and the coverage for general public. With a company’s promise, it’s crucial because it represents what the company can deliver to their customers, and represent the expectations the customers can expect from the company’s products and/ or services. It encompasses the customers’ perception of them.
Common Examples of CSR In Action:
- Reducing carbon footprints
- Improving labor policies
- Participating in fair trade (e.g. fair trade coffee)
- Charitable giving
- Volunteering in the community
- Corporate policies that benefit the environment
- Socially and environmentally conscious investments
How to Build CSR Right?
In today’s environment, CSR programs by any company is necessary to be more than just “doing good”. Here are some examples to get you started:
- Build your strategy around your company’s core competencies
There are lots of worthy causes that your company can choose to support, but without a focus and correlation around what your business already does as well, the CSR efforts may be less effective. If your company has developed strengths and knowledge in a specific area, supporting a cause that aligns with that expertise can be a win-win for both the company and the community.
- Recognize issues that matter to your customers
According to the 2017 Cone Communications CSR Study, 87% of consumers would purchase a product based on a company supporting a social or environmental issue the consumer cares about. Consumers are rewarding socially responsible companies through brand loyalty, making donations to charities companies support, and purchasing products that provide a social benefit.
- Use social media for your CSR efforts
Social media platforms have given businesses to have a wider reach for their marketing campaigns. Management even has social media teams within their company, whom are responsible to manage their social media accounts. They are perfect grounds to share the company’s CSR stories, but remember the key word here is “active”. Social media are used to increase awareness about the company’s social responsibility activities and increase brand equity.
In this point, the key words are “nuance” and “subtle”. There’s a thin line between humbly speaking about what you do for others and boasting about being how generous and compassionate you are. Social responsibility is supposed to reflect the company in that they are doing good for the sake of being good, not because an ulterior motive of gaining something monetary from it. Be tasteful, not trashy.
- Develop CSR initiatives that make your employees proud
Strategic companies are also using CSR programs to grow and protect their biggest asset- their employees. Today, a majority of millennials consider a company’s social commitments when deciding to work, and will look up to companies that genuinely practice strong CSR practices. Engaged employees are also more likely to stay with a company longer. These initiatives can range from paid skill-based workshops or conferences, or skill-based volunteering opportunities to support non-profit organizations.
- Expand your company’s definition of CSR
Sure environmental and charitable efforts are valuable for your company, but today’s consumers have grown to expand in what they define ‘a responsible company’. Becoming more sensible towards employees, operations that protects and benefits society, investing in causes in local and global communities, and standing up for important social issues are a few examples that you can insert in your CSR program
Which Organizations/Company That Do CSR The Right Way?
If you plan to get the right CSR program, we brought you what big companies did:
Why It’s Good: The software giant created Microsoft Philanthropies, where the incentive works with NPOs, governments, and businesses to create “a future where every person has the skills, knowledge, and opportunity to achieve more.” Initiatives cover everything from providing computer education, offering grants to nonprofits, and forming partnerships with organizations around the world.
- Lego- Build the Change Incentive
Why It’s Good: That the incentive really illustrates LEGO’s slogan ‘Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow’. It gave kids a platform to express their vision for a better world, and the events are made that everyone regardless of background can participate. The initiative is also held each time with support from local partners and NGOs.
Why It’s Good: The focus of Delta’s CSR programs, which center on reducing carbon emissions and encouraging environmental sustainability, is on improving transparency. Delta employees are also committed to the company’s CSR: A lot of its employees are involved in Delta Force for Global Good, where they invest their personal time and money to support philanthropic events around the world.
- Haagen-Dazs and honeybee preservation
Why It’s Good: Honeybees are essential for the global food chain, but they’re disappearing at an alarming rate. The ice cream brand created a microsite to raise awareness about the issue, and they also donate a portion of proceeds from its Haagen-Dazs honeybee brand to research on the topic, and also generated a buzz (pun intended) in Twitter campaign through #HelpHoneybees hashtag.
A well-implemented CSR strategy can benefit a company in the long run with competitive advantages, such as increased sales and profits, improved brand image and reputation, efficient productivity, risk management processes, and so much more. Essentially — CSR is about showing customers the selfless side of their business. With the change in consumer trends, this means that consumers are much more aware to CSR issues and the sustainable companies and brands. And with the widespread use of social media as communication tools, this can mean both for the better and the worse for a company. This also means that brands have many ways to interact and communicate with their consumers by showcasing their products and/or services to potential customers. But worse, because customers nowadays are able when they sense a company’s lip service or poorly executed campaigns then they can share their discontentment in social media to call them out or completely boycott them.
