You no longer get bonus points for running a socially responsible company—it is expected. But how do leaders navigate through the many requests to support good causes? Can you marry corporate objectives with your corporate social responsibility strategy? How can you determine what are socially responsible business practices?
Basic nuts-and-bolts questions such as these are at the heart of this book, which culls experiences and best practices from dozens of companies with strong CSR track records.
Six major social initiatives, or "options for doing good," are identified and analyzed: cause promotions, cause-related marketing, corporate social marketing, corporate philanthropy, community volunteering, and socially responsible business practices. Although there is overlap between all six, it is important to understand how they are different before developing a strategic approach, the authors say.
The book closes with a very nice best practices list for finding the best cause or causes for your company to support, such as developing a social initiatives program and creating tools for evaluating your efforts.
The payoff at the end of the day for implementing a crack CSR program isn't just a sound night's sleep, but also increased brand awareness, a more competitive global presence, and, ultimately, more sales.
Marketing expert Philip Kotler, who teaches at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, coauthored the book with social marketing consultant Nancy Lee.—Sean Silverthorne