The holiday season has different meanings for different people around the world. Regardless of how or why we celebrate, we can agree on the humanity that draws us all together at this time of year.
Modern Social Awakenings
Whether you call it charity, eco-awareness, philanthropy, or the post-millennial trend to do good in the world, many of us may classify ourselves as more socially conscious than we used to be.
This awakening has had a direct impact on the economy and the supply chains that feed it. An SAP study found that nearly two-thirds (63 percent of 1,000 consumers surveyed) prefer to purchase holiday gifts from brands that support specific social causes.
Brand Purpose
This is known as “brand purpose.” It’s a modern phenomenon that appears at every major technology conference (as well as for other industries), including SAP TechEd, SAPPHIRE NOW, and others.
Companies exist to make a profit. But companies today are working to prove their altruism by returning some profits to the community. Whether it’s by allowing employees to participate in charitable causes, or through a specific division of the enterprise dedicated to a specific mission, this matters to today’s consumers.
What Today’s Consumers Care About
“We live in an experience economy in which consumers care not just about products but also about a company’s purpose, value, and global impact,” said Alex Atzberger, president, SAP Customer Experience. “For retailers this can be decisive while competing during the holiday season, when shoppers are spending more than at any other time of the year.”
Atzberger’s words are admirable, but do consumers really stop to think about social purpose when buying gifts? And for ASUG Members, do your customers and associates now form a view of your business based on your social purpose or philanthropic programs?
The Perception of Social Responsibility
The SAP survey suggests that more than half of respondents would spend more for a holiday purchase from a brand that strongly supports a cause or represents specific values. These respondents might not actively seek out purposeful brands (whether it’s a brand that represents yogurt, shoes, eyeglasses, taxi rides, haircuts, or woolly hats). But it’s for sure that they subliminally associate each product or service with a certain stance or societal position.
As an ASUG Member, do your customers and partners view you as an efficient business supplier at a reasonable price point with effective service, but ultimately, one that is essentially in the market to make a buck? Or, do they see you as all of those things, and also a business that is prepared to give back and champion values such as environmental sustainability, education, or diversity and inclusion?
Responsible New Year’s Resolutions
Keeping this discussion in mind, what can ASUG Members build for themselves as New Year resolutions on the road to being a more socially responsible business? It starts with thinking authentically about the causes that matter most to your employees and culture. The SAP survey noted that brand values are second only to price when consumers make purchasing decisions. So, price is still important, but building a tangible (and ultimately positive) set of brand values is of paramount importance.
Businesses today must already comply with various forms of national and global regulations. But above and beyond these legal responsibilities, businesses also must exhibit a new kind of transparency where customers, associates, suppliers, and sometimes even competitors are able to “see inside” and know what life is like on the shop or office floor. And this extends into the business, all the way through your entire supply chain.
Holiday Cookies from an Open Kitchen
You might think of the difference between a restaurant that hides the kitchen in the back and one that cooks openly in front of the diners. You don’t have to start hosting “customer/associate open houses” and invite every business you work with over for coffee/beer, cookies, and brainstorming—but you could.
Going forward, businesses and brands that want to remain competitive should be ready to participate in the new socially conscious global economy. They should consider how to increase transparency and start standing for more than just their go-to-market products and services.
If you do all those things, then you might just find some extra seasonal cheer in 2019. Regardless of the approach you decide to take, we wish all of you a happy and prosperous year ahead.