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Went Hot: July 17, 2008 - 5:40 pm
Posted By: billslawski 353 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://searchengineland.com)
Category: Social Media
What steps are you taking with your business to treat all of your stakeholders more responsibly, including your customers and your community around you?
14 Comments
Comments
An excellent post by Bill that's a must read for those engaged in small business activities. Getting active in the commuity can have far reaching benifits for ones business, especially when the involvement is not intended soley to improve ones profits.
Thought-provoking post by Bill.
"To extend our love and care beyond our narrow self-interest is antithetical to neither our human nature nor our financial success."
Human beings are intrinsicly selfish by nature. In short, its against our nature to not be selfish.
What people learn as they get older is that enlightenened self-interest (where you help yourself by empowering others) is more effective than just simply not making a move unless you directly benefit by it.
Thought provoking article, Bill. Thanks once again.
What I find more distressing in the mall example is not so much the lack of local involvement, though that is sad, but the lack of vision to transform already in the door young visitors into staff, into associated enterprises, into present and future consumers.
They not only are getting bad press, they are alienating their future. Stupid.
There is not only a missing sense of community but a dearth of imagination in many businesses.
Awesome article. I agree that businesses of all sizes should do their part to better society when at all possible. However, given the current condition of the economy sometimes it does come down to just the bottom line when making business decisions.
I'm so glad you posted this Bill. You have a terrific way of stating your peace in a professional way. In just a short period of time together, you've taught me so much.
My favorite part, besides the openening quote (which is spot-on) was the brief mention of the six sins of greenwashing. Talk is cheap, isn't it? And used as leverage, so we are better to be mindful of this as being a tool of choice for far too many businesses/marketers, as well as being aware of the fact that each of us can use a little rebuffing to create a better business world, and better environment altogether.
Perfect timing for this discussion Bill. Thanks again.
Thank you, Kimberly. You've taught me so much in the time we've been together, about slowing down and looking at the human side of business and conversation.
I really enjoyed the Six Sins research. It was eye-opening in how so many businesses are claiming to do something positive, and yet aren't really. I hope that research like this does convince business owners that they can actually take steps in their business practices and interactions with consumers that do, to use your words, "create a better business world, and better environment altogether."
Thanks, planetc1
It can make a big impact when a business becomes a caring and sincere member of the community around it, for the business and for the community.
Thank you, Halfdeck.
I hope that's something that people can learn without having to wait until they get older :)
iamlost,
That's a very good point about the mall example. The youth that they turn away today are the shoppers who will be bringing their business somewhere else tomorrow. Thanks.
Hi jmarek 2007,
You raise a good point - that we do have to be concerned with the bottom line of a business, to make sure that it survives.
But I think that we can still consider ways to act in a socially responsible manner that may not only help save money, but may also attract more business then before making such business decisions.
I sometimes wonder how much of corporate social responsibility is a fad which marketers push on consumers as just another means of message control... but then I think, even in the cases of businesses who exploit their false intentions of social responsibility, if that caught on as a standard business practice, the next logical step would be more informed consumers speaking up about who was really making the effort to improve their local, regional or world communities. (How’s that for a run on sentence?)
Great post, thanks!
That mall has definitely sent the message "we want your money, but not your presence" to all the teens in your area. I'm sure that's not what the mall management had in mind. There are significant added expenses when you bring a lot of teens into a mall setting. If they're not willing or able to meet those expenses, the paying adult shoppers get outnumbered by teens just hanging out and having fun. That's not good for business either.
But what if instead of trying to eliminate "the problem" they had recruited a teen advisory board and showed these kids that they cared about their wants and needs ... if they had encouraged involvement instead of spurned it and maybe event taught them a little something in the process? In return, the mall learns more about what teens want (market research), generates good will in the community, improves life for the young people in their community, and generates sales now and in the future. Wouldn't that be a story worth sharing with friends?
Thanks, Chris
I'm not so sure that social responsibility is a fad, especially when it comes to small businesses.
In many small towns, business owners know all of their customers by name, sponsor the local little league teams and the 4H clubs and the boy scouts and the girl scouts, help put together holiday parades, and get involved with their communities in many other ways as members of the community.
Hi Shari,
That's a wonderful solution.