Direct marketing is short term oriented, it’ll help make quick conversions but it lacks the ability to develop a bond and make a human connection. So yes, direct marketing may work for now, but it is not sustainable. Do-good marketing takes an opposing approach, it’s long term oriented and isn’t concerned with conversions—it’s also the future of meaningful companies.
Yesterday morning I opened my mailbox when I got back from my run and I had an envelope sitting in there from AT&T. I immediately recognized that this was one of those direct mailer marketing letters. Having it vaguely addressed to Savannah Neighbor certainly doesn’t help their case. But as I pulled it out I was already annoyed.
Nearly all of my bills are electronic so I rarely receive anything in the mail, and having to throw away all of this junk mail is frustrating. Not to mention the fact that I receive a mountain of these unsolicited kinds of letters every month.
It got me thinking, not only is AT&T wasting paper by sending these out, but why would I want to do business with them? What about this marketing letter should compel me to use them as a provider? Of course they’ll flash all sorts of deals and numbers in front of me, but the question still stands, why?
You see, providing a service is no longer sufficient. We want more. This isn’t because we’re selfish or because we’re millennials, it’s because we’re human.
We want to do business with companies and organizations that do good. We want to do business with companies that resonate with us on an emotional level. There should be an intrinsic appeal. This is the new marketing, it’s called do-good marketing.
I host my website through FatCow. Not because I love their design (I really don’t like it), not because of their customer service (I’ve never really talked to anyone there but those I have talked to were nice), and not because they’re the cheapest (they’re definitely not), but because they use wind-power to power their servers. Renewable energy is something I care about, and FatCow is a company I want to be associated with. This isn’t direct marketing, this is do-good marketing.
Companies that genuinely care and are making actual efforts to do good, these are the companies we can genuinely stand behind. These are the companies we want to be associated with.
Direct mailers, spammy emails, all of that jazz will almost always exist, but companies that are willing to recognize their own responsibility and find intrinsic value in doing good, in playing their part, and in helping the world will ultimately be here for the long haul because they do good and we too want to be involved. Because it takes a group of caring people to decide that their ability to help out in this world outweighs their need to maximize their profit. Because only companies that genuinely care will do this.
So here are two questions: Are you associating yourself with brands and companies that are making a difference and you can proudly stand behind? And if you have a business, beyond your services or products, why should your customers believe in your mission?