Marketing Blagger

It’s Friday afternoon here in sunny London and as usual a barrage of emails about grabbing a few beers has hit my inbox. I thought I’d share the best with you, a quote I believe from Jack Handey:

“The Value of a Drink”

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel shame. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, “It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.”

So, when you think of all the money we’re going to poor into the coffers of all the bars in London this evening, think of the good we’re doing for all those hard workers in the vineyards all over the world.

Could this be corporate social responsibility…?

New research by Millward Brown (a research agency) and published in PR Week suggests consumers are unlikely to boycott a company’s products if it is perceived to have a poor social responsibility record. What a blow-out, considering 87% of Brits said they thought businesses should behave responsibly. The figures are much the same in the US.

Does this mean then that us small businesses should forget about any corporate responsibility initiatives we are taking on then? Certainly not in my opinion!

Being socially responsible with our business practices is essential for the long term health of our planet. Whether that’s recycling your waste paper, allowing your staff to do some charity work during office hours, or providing work experience for disadvantaged kids, whatever really. Not only is this good for the communities in which we live and work, it’s also seen to have a positive impact of recruitment and retention, staff motivation and it should also provide you with great public relations opportunities.

Abandon your CSR practices at your peril. If every small business makes even a small effort, the impact will be huge!