A company in business to make a profit will only do something if it somehow contributes to the bottomline. Decrease costs. Increase revenue. Raise profits.
Making “green” products; making a monetary or in-kind contribution to a local charity; appealing to or being open to people of all cultures, races, orientations, etc.
These are all nice touchy-feely qualities for a company to have. In other words, CSR or corporate social responsibility.
But, for the most part, if there is no contribution or positive impact on company’s brand, image and, ultimately its profitability, then CSR won’t be a primary business practice.
Fleishman-Hillard launched a CSR blog earlier this year, and recenty had a post that presented a “business case for doing good.”
“A study of 2,100 MBA students conducted by Net Impact even found that slightly more than half said they would accept a lower salary to work for a socially responsible company.
Managed strategically across the business, the CSR movement is a great opportunity to build a relationship between business and society based on trust and shared values.”
So, does that mean that a company can decrease its payroll costs for new hires if it practices CSR? (That’s the hard, cold business cynic in me coming out.)
Also recently, MarketingVox reported Alloy Media + Marketing’s findings of a similar CSR survey of U.S. college students (age 18-30).
“The study found that, while humor is good and big names still sell, students prefer an honest and effective social responsibility campaign to celebrity endorsements when it comes to spending.”
Note that the Alloy Media + Marketing survey talked about an “honest and effective social responsibility campaign.” In deciding where to spend my hard-earned money, honesty means more than social responsibility.
Besides, how do you rate and “effective” social responsibility campaign — versus an ineffective SR campaign? (Guess it depends how much impact the campaign had on sales?)
These two studies are a start. They help build the case for companies to look more closely at making CSR a sincere part of their corporate culture.
While we all will benefit from companies being more socially responsible, being a socially responsible corporate citizen won’t be a high-priority if they aren’t making a buck off it somehow.
Point to ponder: In case you are wondering where to find CSR companies, check out the CSR Wire. This helps prove my point that companies are not being good “corporate citizens” just to feel good about themselves. Promoting their good deeds is part of their branding.
– Mike
Technorati tags: corporate social responsibility, CSR, branding
