By Tanita Sandhu
Increasingly, successful companies in the 21st century are those that not only sell and deliver a service or a product, but also contribute to society … organizations with a conscience that goes beyond the bottom line.
This ‘do good’ principle should evolve out of a corporate credo that encompasses commercial strategies that maximize improvements in human and environmental well-being, as well as profits for shareholders.
And, it is now becoming obvious that this altruistic approach does in fact positively contribute to P&L figures, engaging consumers with a feel good factor that builds brand loyalty and cements a relationship beyond the price/value equation.
As a recent global study involving 8,000 consumers in 16 countries carried out on behalf of PR group Edelman revealed, ‘social purpose’ as a purchase trigger has risen 26 per cent since 2008.
Other interesting statistics: 71 per cent of those surveyed said they would promote a brand based on its social purpose, and 73 per cent said they would switch brands, again according to how they perceived its social purpose.
Fleshing out the business model, co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market John Mackey earlier this year released ‘Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business’*, co-authored with Raj Sisodia, business professor and co-founder of the Conscious Capitalism Institute.
In the book, the authors set out to reinvent capitalism as a force for good with a new blueprint that focuses on the creation of value that can serve to create prosperity for society as a whole.
“Now is the time to demonstrate to a skeptical world the truth, goodness and heroism of capitalism rather than perpetuate the false stigmas of selfishness, greed and profit maximization,” said Mackey, citing not only his personal experience with Whole Foods Market but also other ‘conscious’ corporations from Google and Starbucks to Nordstrom, Patagonia and The Container Store.
This view is endorsed by luminaries such as Paul Polman, the CEO of Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever, who says that business has to learn to be successful while contributing to society and supporting eco-systems and biodiversity: “We do not have to win at the expense of others to be successful … winning alone is not enough, it is about winning with purpose.”
The overwhelming trend is that the traditional Four Ps of sales – price, product, place and promotion – is being joined by a fifth essential, the new P for purpose.
In part driven by the new world of technology where social media in all its guises enables the consumer to delve deeper in to the heart of any corporation, the stress on the fifth P can enable any company to differentiate themselves on a crowded shelf of brands and appeal to the heart.
Building blocks
An intrinsic social purpose should devolve from an organization’s brand values, but while seeking to marry the principles of corporate commerce with conscious capitalism, those without a clear path, challenged by budget and resources, can partner with any number of associations to provide the necessary building blocks.
For the consumer, the issue is fostered by web platforms such as Good.Guide that allows access to sustainability data, as well as other barcode scanning apps that inform decision making.
Among the latest entrants to the list of volunteer and social websites that can provide a starting point are Catchafire, (matching skilled professionals with volunteer opportunities); VolunteerMatch (listings of events and projects by more than 71,000 non-profit organizations); PincGiving (practical advice on fundraising and charitable causes); Pifworld (online charity platform with video uplinks to selected projects); Net Impact (a nonprofit aiming to inspire, educate and equip business to create a socially sustainable world), and NABUUR (online link between volunteers and project to share knowledge, ideas and contacts).
The potential is limitless.
A Silicon Valley organization, Samasource, has been set up by Leila Chirayath to connect small and mid-size businesses with individuals and firms in developing countries that can perform outsourcing work such as data entry, while The Skoll Foundation founded by Jeff Skoll has since 1999 been investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs and innovators.
And, a starting platform could be as simple as combining charitable donations with market research, using one of several companies that have made this a simple process.
According to the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), more than US$8bn is spent on market research annually, and by connecting with researchforgood, networkforgood.org or surveyforgood.org, this money can be used to incentivize consumers to participate in the research by offering a donation to the charity of their choice.
It’s an example of the type of ‘feel good’ activity that has an underlying commercial purpose but one that does not detract from the fact that this capitalism has a conscience.
@soulofbrands / www.soulofbrands.com
* Published by Harvard Business Review Press. Profits from books sold at Whole Foods Market will go to the Whole Planet Foundation, which supports poverty alleviation and entrepreneurship through microcredit in developing countries. Mackey is also donating his royalties to the Foundation. For more information, visitconsciouscapitalism.org and academyforconsciousleadership.com.
