Social Responsibility and Consumers
About the Project
Every day we hear ‘would you like to add a $1 donation to your purchase today to help out pets in need?’ or on the product itself it says ‘10% of the proceeds of this water bottle goes to help drought-ridden areas’. But have we ever stopped to think, ‘where is my donation money going after I buy this product? We should be skeptical when giving to social causes through a company because we have to think, ‘is this another corporate social responsibility ploy?’ or ‘are they really giving to what they say they are giving?’ As an everyday consumer of coffee, water, clothes, shoes, etc. we have to be sure companies are ethically marketing their products.
We should not fall victim to ‘cause marketing’ because companies want to increase their revenue. If companies are genuinely giving to the causes the products are attached to, it should be informational transparent on any platform the company has available. I took the liberty of looking for information of where the product proceeds donations go. I look at the website inform, email correspondence, customer representative information, product packing, and social media. I rate these 1 to 5, 1 being extremely vague and 5 being transparent.”
Rating System
The rating system is from 1 to 5:
1- Extremely vague
2- Vague
3- Neutral
4- Good
Website: For a company’s website to be a 5, the product’s charitable cause has to be clear wording for consumers to easily understand the donation process after purchasing. Including information about how much money has been distributed and whom it is being distributed to. It should also include stories, photos, etc. of how the money is being spent. Anything without this will reduce in ratings.
Email Correspondence: A 5 rating for an email correspondence is determined by addressing all questions the consumer has asked. Informing the consumer with websites, pamphlets and additional information that can be helpful. If the email representative cannot directly answer the question, an email for someone who can answer should be provided. The email should end with, “if you have any other questions, feel free to email us again or reply directly to this email” along those lines.
Social Media: For a company’s social media to be a 5 it has to display the product at least twice a week to stay relevant. Most company social media pages post 4-5 times a day, posting twice in one week is minimum to keep customers interested in the product.
Customer Representative: A 5 rating for a customer representative has to be informed of any social responsibility initiatives the company currently has. A deep understanding of what the product is supporting and how donations are distributed. The customer representative, if possible, should direct consumers to any pamphlets, websites, or flyers they currently have on the charitable product.
Packaging: A 5, it must show the cause directly on the packaging. It has Product Packaging: In order for packaging be obvious this product has proceeds going to a charity.