From the last week in November until the first week in January, consumers may be buying a lot, but few are trying to get ahead. Check out Google Search Trends and look for anything business related and you’ll see the end of the year always coincides with a very sharp falloff in interest in anything business related. What does that mean?
If you have a B2B business, most of your customers have stopped looking for you after December 15. If you have a B2C business, you’re competing against thousands of entrenched enterprises spending millions to get mind share.
The only way to compete with all that is to be . . . generous.
The UK has one of the highest rates of charitable giving in the world, and the winter holidays are when we give away the most.
One of the ways you can gain both customer mind share and a deservedly positive image during this busy time is to adopt one or more charities that are consistent with your company’s brand. You can show your support for your charity by . . .
- Giving products or services away to one or more local or national charities to help them raise money a new way this year. If you sell warm woolen blankets, giving fifty away to your local shelter is worth a press release that promotes both you and them.
- Selling products or services and give a percentage of each sale to one or more local or national charities. This helps consumers give to those who need help as well as their family and friends.
- Creating a product or a service that is designed specifically to honor a given charity, and donate 100% of its sales to the charity. This creates an item that reminds people of the work a charity does all year long.
But be careful. Prior to supporting a charity in this fashion you must:
- Contact the charity to confirm that they want to accept your donation. Not all charities accept donations from all businesses.
- Ensure that the charity approves your right to publish press releases about your donation to them. You may have to give them the text of the press release for them to approve, and you should incorporate a quote from them if you can.
- Confirm the right to use their logo on your site for a limited time so you can link to them.
If you have a small, not very well known business, look for local charities because they will be easier to work with. If you have a larger, better known business, you can work with regionally or nationally known charities.
Writing Press Releases for Charitable Activities
In your press release, make sure you put the name of the charity, your company name, and what was donated into the headline. Make sure the release contains a link to the charity’s site as well as your site.
- Oxfam Receives 1000 Winter Coats from Carleton Coat Factory
- Buy the Wizard Iphone App and 100% of Your Money Goes to Milestone Children’s Fund
- London Homeless Coalition Receives 40% of All December Sales at Bar9.com
All those examples are made up by the way . . .
Keep Christmas Well . . .
Christmas is a good time for you to support organizations that help people year round. In addition to your family’s private giving, you really can leverage the resources of your business to make an impact. Like businesses, most charities depend on revenues they receive at the end of the year to do sustain them for many months. Incorporating those realities into your corporate communications may help your business and will certainly help the charities you support.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?