Innovating the Customer Experience: Social Impact and Brand Perception

Consumers have become increasingly vocal about shopping with organizations that are actively involved in community initiatives. On this episode of Innovating the Customer Experience Podcast: Social Impact and Brand Perception, our J.D. Power experts Michael Vermillion, Senior Managing Director, Global Business Intelligence and Mark Miller, Practice Leader, Customer Service Advisory, sit down with Nick Lynch, co-founder of Collidescope to discuss how some brands are reshaping customer expectations by using the power of social impact campaigns.  

What are Social Impact Campaigns and Why Should Brands Include Them in Their Marketing Strategies?

Tapping into consumers’ drive for change can help brands stand out amongst their competitors and reshape their brand perception and drive brand loyalty. One way brands can communicate their involvement in their community is through social impact campaigns, advertising or marketing efforts centered around an organization's active involvement in social initiatives. 

Nick Lynch shares how social impact marketing should be interwoven with a brand’s overall messaging, “Finding ways to communicate how authentically you're participating in the social impact space and in social impact initiatives is pretty much paramount with how brands need to be communicating their positioning of their products.”  

What is the Risk of Disregarding Social Impact Campaigns?

Any type of advertising or marketing initiative comes with a risk. However, brands that choose not to participate in social impact campaigns may alienate consumers who are seeking out socially conscious brands. According to Forbes, “nearly two thirds of Gen Z consumers have already stopped buying from brands that are not aligned with their values. And 40% would consider doing so again.” Brands can attract future customers and build advocates by supporting social initiatives that authentically correspond with their mission and vision. 

How Do You Build Your Social Impact Campaign from the Ground Up? 

Companies considering social impact campaigns need to keep a few factors in mind to ensure success. 

• When choosing a cause, start with the mission. Make sure you understand the community or the cause you want to work with.  
• Then, identify marketing expectations around what you hope to achieve and how you want this campaign to impact the organization you’re collaborating with.  
• As you start to build out your campaign, take time to reevaluate and refine benchmarks throughout the development process.  

How Can You Measure and Benchmark Your Social Impact Campaign?

Social impact campaigns, like any other marketing initiative, have their own set of KPIs. Nick Lynch shares how Collidescope analyzes “double ROI.” This term measures the success of the marketing impact for the business in comparison to the downstream effect for the social cause the organization is aligned with, “We believe that the best way to validate performance is really looking at those two pieces together holistically to really see did my campaign drive awareness engagement around my brand as well as the cause. Then [we] also look to see did interest in that cause or in that organization increase? Did we drive traffic to that website? Did we drive petitions or signatures, or did we drive funds to that initiative as well?” 

Along with measuring the overall impact of your campaign, it’s also important to keep benchmarking in mind. Since a good experience anywhere influences expectations everywhere, customers are comparing the work you’re doing with the community to other top-performing brands involved in social causes. It’s important to analyze how top performers (corporations or non-profits) are excelling in the market and assess the strengths and weaknesses of these successful campaigns and determine where you can improve things with your own initiative. 

Social Impact Campaigns and the Customer Experience 

Improving the customer experience starts with how your customers perceive your brand. Listen in to the episode below to learn more about how social impact campaigns can influence consumer opinions of your organization and stay tuned to learn other tools to improve the customer experience.