Making money isn’t the core issue of your business

For a long time I thought that business simply existed to make as much money as possible. While that’s still true, I believe that it’s only part of the story. The impact a business has on society is fundamental. It employs members of the community, drives the housing market, and fuels an enormous support organization of small businesses (grocery, dry cleaning, banking, insurance, etc…). Now that I’m a little older, I realize that making money isn’t the core issue. What you do with the money is the real key to happiness.

There is a growing trend in business to give back to society in a more measurable way than mentioned above. Businesses are no longer just in the business of business. There is more to success than shareholder value. They can leverage their knowledge of supply chain, communication, productivity gains to leave the world a better place. They can affiliate with causes that are complimentary to their mission that enable profitable growth and societal influence. And guess what, consumers love it.

Today’s consumers are savvy. They are looking for more than just the next widget. They understand that we live in an increasingly smaller world, and want to do their part to make it better. Companies and organization that take advantage of that desire will grow. Product (Red) has taken this approach to new level. Spearheaded by Bono, Product (Red) isn’t asking anyone to change their buying behavior by purchasing conflict-free diamonds or fair-trade coffee. They make a fair assumption that given a choice of the same pricing and availability, consumers will buy “Red” products over non-Red products. For instance, if you’re in the market for a new iPod, chances are that you’ll buy a “Red” iPod over a regular iPod once you understand the value proposition. And a percentage of each product goes to anti-viral AIDS medicine in Africa. Even though the campaign is new, Red products seem to be selling well.

The University of Oxford, Harvard Business School, and Columbia Business School now have programs for entrepreneurs that want to be profitable and make a difference. The latest report from McKinsey says that 87% of global executives surveyed “agreed that their companies should pursue not only shareholder value but also broader contributions to the public good”. Conversely, according to PRWeek, 87% of surveyed consumers believe that it’s important for companies to support causes and charites. Fast Company magazine give away Social Capitalist awards.

My question to you is what are you doing to make the world a better place? It’s easy to come in and slave away at strategy or the latest marketing campaign. But are you really making a difference? Are you really standing out from your competition? Do you stand for something more in the eyes of your customers?

There’s more to business than business. It’s all about finding a way to the hearts of your audience. It’s about elevating your brand above your own widgets. It’s about standing up for the people that cannot. And I believe your customers will stand with you.

Nick Rice