Cause promotions

          Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
          to help you better manage your small business

     Cause promoting, or cause marketing, is not new. Small businesses have been helping local causes ever since they first supplied uniforms to local ball teams. 

     Small businesses improve their reputation and sales efforts by supporting local causes. Cause promoting is not only the right thing to do, it's good for business--spreading the word out into the community. 

     Examples: It's the local veterinarian who sponsors pet adoptions once a month. It's the local restaurant that opens up its party room to local charitable events. It's the local fitness center that sponsors a Walkathon for the benefit of cancer survivors. It's the local health food store that brings the Bloodmobile to its front door once each month. It's the local dentist who pays kids to bring in all the Halloween candy they've received. It's the local bakery that donates food to local food banks.

     Big corporations put together big cause marketing campaigns to sell more product and enhance the company's image. Pink campaigns are so prevalent that the word "pink" has become synonymous with breast cancer research. Every time you see the word, you think about the contribution being made to a good cause. 

     Even small businesses have jumped at the chance to become part of local "pink" campaigns. Funds raised go to cancer research, and the reputation of the small business spreads in the community. 

     When CVS announced a campaign to remove all tobacco products from their pharmacies, the company's reputation was spread by the media--amounting to free advertising. CVS got widespread free publicity and improved the company's image in this cause marketing effort. 

     Small businesses are an integral part of the community they serve. It's a natural extension of that idea for businesses to be involved in cause promoting. Help the community and your small business is helped at the same time. 

     If your business is among the examples, you have a starting point. If not, put on your thinking cap and find a way to promote your business with cause promotions. 

     Cause promotions must be themselves promoted. Post your cause promotion on social media--it's easy and free. Cause promotions put a positive spin on your business and bring you some new people.