Tuesday, July 5, 2011
By natalia
Generation G(enerosity)
In one of my recent posts, I briefly mentioned "Generation G" -- a growing contingent of Americans described by trendwatching.com, where the G stands for Generosity. These Americans are increasingly "disgusted with greed" and its effects on society and the economy; they long for more generosity, for "institutions that care," and for for people who "share, give, engage, create and collaborate." Generation G is made up of anyone from the old to the young -- from billionaires pledging half of their wealth to charity, to the average blue-collar American. When it comes to businesses, however, it's not enough to tout a "social responsibility" program comprised of various initiatives that at times may be a forced response to outside a pressure. A business should seem like it genuinely wants to be good and generous -- towards customers, towards employees, and towards the world. 
This doesn't mean forgetting about profits and bottom lines, though. Check out the entire trendwatching article to read about their "8 ways for corporations to join Generation G" -- from co-donating, to eco-generosity, to random acts of kindness. With dozens of past examples, you're sure to find something to inspire you. And for a more recent example, read today's Mobile Marketer article on how Coca-Cola is pairing up with HMSHost for a mobile sweepstakes campaign and giving program that will benefit Feeding America.
The Cold, Hard Numbers
Want a more obvious business incentive other than warm fuzzies? A Duke University and Cone survey found that nearly 8 in 10 consumers say they would switch to another brand if it was associated with a good cause. A PR Week and Barkley Public Relations survey corroborated the findings when they found that 88% of millennials say they would switch to brands supporting causes. The latter study also discovered that more than half of American moms say they would pay more to for a brand that supports a cause. And these will undoubtedly be growing trends in today's society. As a business, you cannot afford to ignore them.CallFire
So what's CallFire doing for our part? Other than providing discounts to the many non-profits and charities we work with, we're also working to provide text-to-give programs to our customers (if you're interested in participating, please give our sales line a call). Also, we're currently devising our own social and environmental responsibility program, as well as a donation program where we'll give 1% of our profits to employee-picked charities. If you weren't (or aren't) a CallFire customer, would you be more likely to become one if you knew CallFire was a B Corporation? We'd love to get your input on the subject, so let us know!