As more consumers seek products and services from businesses that share their values, cause marketing has become critically important. Cause-related marketing entails supporting a specific cause that's relevant to your company and customers.
If you're not sure whether you need cause marketing, consider that 72% of American shoppers have stated that it's crucial for the brands they use to share the same values. 86% are also more likely to buy from purpose-driven brands.
While cause marketing is essential for many businesses, there are some factors that can help you determine if it's right for you. These include your business goals, target audience, and company values. Here are some questions to ask yourself when deciding whether a cause-related campaign is right for your company. 
What Are Your Business Goals?
Depending on your goals, cause marketing can be invaluable, so it’s essential to ask yourself this question before planning a cause-related campaign.
For example, it's great for increasing brand awareness, improving customer loyalty, and driving sales. If you're trying to achieve any of these goals, cause marketing may give your business a significant boost.
Which Causes Align with Your Business Values?
Consider the specific causes that are worth supporting because of your values. Cause marketing works best when the cause you support aligns with your company's mission and values.
For instance, if you're the marketing director for a sustainable clothing brand focused on energy efficiency, supporting environmental causes is a natural fit. Today, 81% of companies are promoting sustainability, largely because of the positive impact it has on customer perception.
There are plenty of potential causes to support based on your values and mission. Some examples of these could include education, hunger, animal rights, civil rights and equality, and more. You can also get involved in these causes in many ways, such as corporate-level donations, sponsorships, food or toy drives, and many other types of events.
Who Is Your Target Audience?
Your target audience is another key consideration before you start planning your campaign. Cause-related marketing is effective if your target audience is socially conscious and prefers brands that support the causes they care about.
If your audience isn't invested in a particular cause or supports a wide range of causes over a singular movement, you may not want to pursue cause marketing.
Conduct research into your customer base and see which causes they support. You might look on social media and other channels to find out which causes appeal most to your customers, or survey them directly. Based on the results, you may find a cause they care about that aligns with your company values.
How Will You Measure Success?
Like any other marketing initiative, you need clear metrics and goals to measure results.
The metrics you choose will depend on the goals you set. For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, then website traffic, ad impressions and views, and other similar metrics will be worth watching. Meanwhile, purchases and revenue should be monitored if you want to increase sales or customer loyalty.
Using the right analytical tools, you'll be able to keep track of your campaigns after launching them. This will help ensure you can make any adjustments to your campaigns if you find they're underperforming. Based on the initial results, you can find out what's working and what needs improvement and adjust accordingly.
Can You Make a Meaningful Impact?
One of your main goals when launching a cause marketing campaign will be to increase your bottom line and customer loyalty. However, you should also determine whether your campaign will have a real impact on the cause you support. People will trust and value your brand if your efforts have a noticeable impact.
Leaving a positive impact on your brand's cause requires a large investment of time, resources, and money. If you're unable to make that investment, you may want to hold off on cause marketing.
Determining if Cause-Related Marketing is Right for Your Brand
Whether cause marketing is right for your business will depend on your unique situation and goals. By taking these factors into consideration and weighing the potential benefits and challenges of cause marketing, you can decide whether it's ideal. Even if you're currently unable to succeed with a cause-related marketing campaign, you may want to consider it in the future when you're in a better position to benefit from it.
If you need some help with your cause marketing efforts, the experts at Mid-West Family Eau Claire can help. Contact us today to find out how we can help you build your next cause marketing campaign along with other types of marketing strategies.
