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Business is Personal
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Business Has Changed
Back to Basics
• Personal Relationships
• Word-of-Mouth Referrals
• Grassroots Community
Building
Popular Business Books
• Creating Customer Evangelists
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• Free Prize Inside
• The Tipping Point
• Purple Cow
• Good to Great
• Love is the Killer App
• lovemarks
Key Relationship Overlooked
This relationship is very important to
your customers, your employees and
your shareholders.
Blue Cube Marketing Solutions
Key Relationship Overlooked
The relationship a company has
with the community
it serves.
Blue Cube Marketing Solutions
Does It Pay to Be Good?
A socially engaged and better-educated
population demands that the companies with
which they do business - as consumers,
employees, or investors - conform to higher
standards. Both consumers and employees tell
researchers that they prefer to purchase from
and work for a company that is a good
corporate citizen.
Source: Does It Pay to Be Good? Across The Board, Jan/Feb. 2003
Community Engagement Benefits
• Increase in Employee Satisfaction and
Retention Rates
– Three in five employees want to work for a company whose values
are consistent with their own*
– 82% of employees are unhappy with their current work/life
balance **
– 89% want to change jobs within the next 6 years **
– 77% of employees say that a company’s commitment to social
issues are important when deciding where to work ***
*The Business Case for Social Corporate Responsibility, 3/1/04; ** monster.com; *** 2002
Cone Corporate Citizenship Study
Community Engagement Benefits
• Enhanced Image in Community
– 59% say corporate citizenship practices improve the
image and reputation of the company *
– 53% say that corporate citizenship efforts are important
to their customers *
– 84% say a company’s commitment to social issues is
important when I decide which companies I want to see
doing business in my community**
* The State of Corporate Citizenship in the U.S. 2003 - 2004, The Center for Corporate
Citizenship at Boston College and the U.W. Chamber of Commerce Center for Corporate
Citizenship; ** 2002 Cone Corporate Citizenship Study
Community Engagement Benefits
• Increased Market Share
– 82% say that good corporate citizenship helps the bottom line*
– 71% of consumers say they are likely to consider a company’s
reputation for supporting causes when purchasing gifts**
– 91% consider switching to another company’s products or services
to avoid doing business with bad corporate citizens**
– 76% will boycott a company’s products or services*
* The State of Corporate Citizenship in the U.S. 2003 - 2004, The Center for Corporate
Citizenship at Boston College and the U.W. Chamber of Commerce Center for Corporate
Citizenship; ** 2002 Cone Corporate Citizenship Study
Community Engagement Benefits
• Creates a Better Place to Live, Work and
Conduct Business
• A company is only as healthy as the community in
which it does business
– Helps in the attraction and retaining a qualified work force
– Enhances quality of life by contributing to economic
stability
– Can attract press coverage as a good place to live, work
and conduct business
Community Engagement Benefits
• More Press Coverage
– Relevant to readership
• Business
– Innovative business practices applicable across industry
lines
– Establish your company as a leader in your industry and in
business
• Community
– Communicates what happening locally
– Provides exposure for community involvement
Community Engagement Examples
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Target
Starbucks
NFL
PGA
Body Shop
Ben & Jerry’s
Station Casinos
What can my company do?
Keys to Successful Community Engagements
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Reflect the Core Business Objectives
Buy-in from Key Decision Makers
Non-Profit Accountability
Clear and Consistent Communication
Reliable Measuring and Reporting Methods
Community Engagement Process
1. Company Assessment
2. Develop Strategy
3. Implementation
4. Liaison
5. Measurement
1. Company Assessment
• Review Mission and Vision
Statement
• Review Strategic Goals
• Interview Management/Employees
and Board
• Review Internal/External Communications
• Review Collateral Material and
Advertising
• Review Web Site
• Review Community Involvement to Date
• Define Target Audiences
2. Develop Strategy
• Identify Resources for Engagement
• Research Community Entities which
complement Mission and Vision
• Propose Potential Engagement
Opportunities
• Devise Communication Strategy
• Define and Implement
Measurement Mechanisms
3. Implementation
• Define Roles &
Responsibilities
• Establish Timeline
• Initiate Plan
4. Liaison
• Ensure Communication is Flowing
• Ensure Timeline Remains on
Track
• Act as a Resource
Throughout the Process
5. Measurement
• Press Coverage
• Employee Moral/Productivity
• Increased Recognition
• Increased Sales/Customers
• Decreased Turnover
• Enhanced Image
• Community Recognition
Case for Community Engagement
• 88% of Americans believe during an economic downturn and period of
tighter consumer spending, it is important for companies to continue
supporting causes - up from 81% in March 2001
• 81% of Americans say that they are likely to switch brands when price
and quality are equal to support a cause - up from 51% prior to
September 11.
• Nearly nine in ten, 86%, agree that companies should tell them the ways
in which they are supporting social issues. Highlighting American’s
deep mistrust of companies today, however, an overwhelming majority
say they prefer to find out about corporate activities from a third-party
source, particularly the media.
(source: 2001 Cone/Roper Corporate Citizenship Study)
A Strategic Approach
“Over the past years, community relations has
moved from the margins of the corporation to a
position of growing importance. More and
more companies regard their involvement in the
community as a key business strategy and a
linchpin in their overall citizenship efforts.”
Source:Community Involvement Index 2002:
A research report from The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College
Looking for Better Relationships?
If you’re looking for better relationships with:
• Employees
• Customers
• Shareholders . . . . . . . . .
Start With Community Engagement
Your success depends on your
relationships.
Business is personal.
That’s the bottom line in business.
Blue Cube Marketing Solutions
Blue Cube Marketing Solutions is a marketing communications
company specializing in building strategic relationships between
small to mid-sized companies and the communities they serve.
Through targeted, strategic partnerships based on mutually
defined goals and shared values, Blue Cube serves as a catalyst
for transforming the way companies approach social
responsibility and communication strategy.
Blue Cube Marketing Solutions is owned and operated by
Tami Belt, a Las Vegas native with 15 years marketing
experience in such diverse industries as healthcare, news
media, golf and education in both the for-profit and
not-for-profit sectors.