Altruism Pays Off By Attracting More Customers

A recent article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram News, cited several businesses in the Dallas Forth Worth area that were offering free services or discounts to unemployed customers.

Sool Song of Custom Cleaners in Keller,TX ran an ad in the local newspaper offering free dry cleaning to anyone who had lost a job in this economy. Song was quoted in the article:

"Right now it is a very, very bad economy and some of my customers don’t have a way to make money," Song said. "Sometimes, they need to go to an interview or go to church and they need to dress up. I have to take care of them."

A local restaurant, Potager, in Arlington TX, has a “pay what you think the meal is worth” pricing policy. The restaurant owner hopes that these customers will not take advantage of this policy knowing that they contribute to the restaurant’s future. But Cynthia Chippendale, Potager’s owner believes in serving locally grown and seasonally available food on her menu, a concept that is sweeping the sustainable food trend in this country.

Even local auto dealers like Liberty Ford in Cleburne Texas, are offering to cover customers payments for up to a year, if they have lost a job.

Although his interventions were purely altruistic, Song discovered that his altruism paid off by attracting more customers.

Experts like, David Strutton, a professor of marketing at the University of North Texas, agree that altruism is good public relations by building relationships with their customers that have positive effects on the growth of the business.

Weight Loss With a Mission

With 48,900 businesses in the U.S. in the category of fitness, gym, and health clubs in the U.S, there is enormous potential for using the members to raise funds for charity while getting more fit.
One opportunity is a "weigh off" with the help of an organization, Weigh to Give, that sets up the whole program. This works much like a marathon, where participants are sponsored for the pounds lost. The money raised can be donated to any of the charities that Weigh To Give, gives to, or the business can recommend a charity they would like to donate to.

Up until now charities have been using weigh offs for their fundraising, but this is a great way for small businesses in the health field and fitness industry to give to charity in a way that aligns with their business purpose.

Will a Giant Mob With a Carrot Support Your Business?

Can a trend started by environmental activists translate into business philanthropy?


Carrotmob is a consumer activist organization that sponsors reverse boycotts of chosen businesses in the community. The idea started in San Francisco and Brooklyn, Philadelphia and cities around the world have taken on the idea. The way it works is that stores participate in a competition to see who can contribute the most to doing good for the world. The winning bidder promises to use a percent of the profits from the Carrotmob event towards become more green. Carrotmob organizes a shopping day where the “mobs” come out to support the store. The philosophy behind Carrotmob is stated below in their section for those activists who would like to get involved.

“Carrotmob was created by an activist who was frustrated by the ineffectiveness of traditional methods of activism: protests, rallies, boycotts, emails to congress people, letters to editors, and most of all, silly chants. Unlike those other methods, Carrotmob has measurable results built in. If businesses aren’t willing to make significant improvements, there will be no campaign. But once businesses decide that winning a Carrotmob campaign will bring enough value to them that they’re willing to make some big changes, they will actually become our partners.”

For me Carrotmob’s message goes beyond the hoopla the events create. The message is that consumers are using their buying power to influence business behavior. Consumers can and will in increasing numbers support businesses that care about the environment.

Already businesses hope to bring in “mobs” by hosting charity events. Could it work in reverse? In either case, Carrotmob’s idea points to the power of consumer to affect business behavior in a positive way.

Check out their website for more info about Carrotmob, how to organize an event or to learn a little more about the impact that consumer activism can have. http://www.carrotmob.org/.