Around the world, companies have invested time, talent and treasure
in social and environmental efforts for a range of complementary
reasons. For many companies, cause marketing—the use of social and
environmental efforts to build a brand and increase profits—has been a
secondary if not primary motivation.
Cause marketing won’t work with all customer segments—some simply
don’t care—but research suggests that there is a segment of socially
conscious consumers that cause marketers should pay attention to. But
who are these socially conscious consumers? What causes are most
important to them? What’s the best way to reach them?
New findings from a Nielsen survey of more than 28,000 online
respondents from 56 countries around the world provide fresh insights to
help businesses better understand the right audience for cause
marketers, which programs resonate most strongly with this audience, and
what marketing methods may be most effective in reaching these
consumers.
In the study, respondents were asked if they prefer to buy products
and services from companies that implement programs that give back to
society. Anticipating a positive response bias, respondents were also
asked whether they would be willing to pay extra for those services. For
the purposes of this study, Nielsen defines the “socially conscious
consumer” as those who say they would be willing to pay the extra.
Two thirds (66%) of consumers around the world say they prefer to buy
products and services from companies that have implemented programs to
give back to society. That preference extends to other matters, too:
they prefer to work for these companies (62%), and invest in these
companies (59%). A smaller share, but still nearly half (46%) say they
are willing to pay extra for products and services from these companies.
These are the “socially conscious consumers,” as defined by and focused
upon in this report.
Not All Causes are Equal in Consumers’ Eyes
There are innumerable worthy causes for brands to support, but
effective cause marketing requires strategic prioritization. To maximize
ROI on cause marketing efforts, companies need to identify the most
relevant causes to their business. One component is the expectation
consumers have of specific brands, but a more fundamental question is
‘which causes are most important to socially-conscious consumers?’
The survey results indicate that socially-conscious consumers care
most about environmental sustainability. From a list of 18 causes that
included the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals
as well as other prominent corporate social responsibility topics, 66
percent of socially conscious consumers identified environmental
sustainability as a cause companies should support. This preference may
be a byproduct of extensive efforts already underway by brands to
“green” their portfolio and associate themselves with this cause.
Smarter Cause Marketing
Not all consumers expect companies to care about social
responsibility, but those that do can be segmented and understood in
ways that allow brands to engage in cause marketing that appeals to the
right consumers, supports the right causes and engages the right
marketing channels.
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/the-global-socially-conscious-consumer/
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