But your customers do.

A large-scale, international study by Edelman found that 83% of consumers ask businesses to place at least equal weight on society’s interests as on business’ interests [1]. That was in 2012, up significantly from 2008 and 2010.

A look at the 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report from Cone Communications reveals that  90% of consumers are very likely to switch brands for a good cause [2]. The same report grants the following stats based on its polling of approximately 10,000 global consumers:

• 84%
  Strongly prefer to see businesses with a Social Mission in their community
• 84%
  Of consumers consider Social Mission important when considering where to shop
• 82%
  Consider Social Mission important when determining which products/services to recommend
• 67%
  Look for Social Mission as an valuable indicator of which stocks or mutual funds to invest in
• 71%
  Global consumers agree that they would pay more for the same product has a Social Mission
• 71%
  Of consumers are willing to pay more for a good with a Social Mission
• 57%
  Of consumers are willing to settle for lesser quality for a good with a Social Mission

Your stakeholders do too...

Social Missions may seem ethereal, intangible, or insincere, but when implemented successfully they have an enormous impact on the bottom line.

• 79%
  Of Employees examine Social Mission before determining where to work
• 62%
  Of Employees are willing to work for a lower salary if the company has a strong Social Mission
• 61%
  Of Consumers use social media to spread information about companies they patronize
• 51%
  Of Consumers assume companies are not acting in society's interests unless they hear otherwise
• 84%
  Of Consumers actively seek companies with a Social Mission wherever possible
81%
Of Consumers cite the availabiility of products as the number one barrier to increased sponsorship of responsible companies

What is a "Social Mission", anyway?

Indeed, the 2015 Global Cone CSR survey of 10,000 approaches this market force as "Corporate Social Responsibility". When we refer to Social Mission we are using the latter definition here, which includes not only a means of improving the world but also the means of relating it to your customers. After all, the amount of good you can do is proportionate to the amount of capital you have.

 

A Social Mission is a combination of how your business helps people as well as why you are in the business of serving others. The "how" is the actual manner than you benefit others, the "why" is the strategy for making this mission into something marketable. You can read more about this in our subsequent blog post, "How to Find Your Social Mission". 

 Until next time, as my Grandma is apt to say, "keep it moral"!