This week Forrester released a study that encouraged marketers to steer clear of location-based social networks such as Foursquare and Loopt. Their reasoning? That only 4 percent of online adults use these applications. Of this audience, 80 percent are male and 70 percent are college grads between the ages of 19-35. The study suggests marketers looking to reach a wide audience should wait until the applications reach more of the mass population before investing resources.

I always advise our clients to think about the strategy behind their involvement in a social network. Is it where their audience is? Where are they already being talked about? Do they have the time to devote to the application? Location-based social networks are no different. Do they currently make sense for say, a professional service client? For the most part, at this time they do not. However, they are a heck of a great deal for hospitality and retail clients. As I mentioned in an earlier post about Twitter Places, location-based social networks can be a free way to distribute offers to a targeted audience as well as reward your loyal customers.

As with all social media networks, it doesn’t make sense to participate just because there is a lot of buzz. At the same time a low, but growing adoption rate isn’t a reason not to. Brands who took a small risk and were early adopters of tools such as Facebook and Twitter find themselves leading the pack in innovative communication while other brands struggle to play catch-up. Where there is risk there is opportunity. I’m willing to take a risk and say there is opportunity for location-based social networks.

-Lacy Bronson

Corporate social responsibility. Sustainability.  Stewardship. Businesses often use these terms to describe their commitment to protect the natural world and contribute to a fair, humane society.  But how do we know when a company is truly working hard to create positive outcomes, versus simply trying to create a positive image?

As a consumer, I’ve tried for a long time to dig deeper into the nature of the companies I support with my dollars. Since I’ve become a parent, my awareness has only become more heightened. Trying to reconcile what I buy with my moral and ethical convictions is often a dizzying experience.

One of the best indicators that a company is walking the sustainability talk may seem counterintuitive.  When a company’s stewardship efforts – that is, its work to reduce environmental impacts and to act in a socially responsible manner – are tied to its economic bottom line, then we have something.  Here’s why.  If a company tries to adopt a set of practices purely because it’s a good thing to do, the effort will likely be short lived.  Private businesses must make a profit to survive, and any efforts that take away from that profitability jeopardize the health of the company.  However, companies that tie sustainable practices to economic performance often succeed where others fail.

For example, one client has found that shipping goods by sea, versus air and land, dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and transportation costs.  The company has a very ambitious goal to reduce GHGs and this effort has helped tremendously.

Another client has found success by building homes that are highly efficient, healthier (with no chemicals off-gassing that affect air quality), and near public transportation.  While these practices can cost more because green building products are often more expensive, they tend to outsell their competition. This is because homebuyers now have a heightened awareness of indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and because a home on a transit line reduces the need to drive.

Through these observations I’ve trained myself to move away from being either a cynic – believing we’re in a horrible environmental tailspin – or from wearing rose-colored glasses – waiting for a miracle to fix our social and environmental problems. I’m now a self-described hopeful realist.  I’m a realist because I can see the true nature of business – for companies to exist they must make money.  And I’m hopeful because the most innovative companies can find ways to tie their sustainability efforts to their economic bottom line.  From what I’ve seen so far, these are the companies that will thrive in the long-term while helping to create a healthier planet and more equitable society.

-Josh Chaitin

 
I had the distinct pleasure this past week to attend an annual fundraising breakfast for a local non-profit that provides critical services to the homeless, addicted and mentally ill.
 
Over the course of the 2-hour event, it became abundantly clear that one of the most unique aspects of this agency is that its doors are always open. No one is ever turned away, asked to come back in a week, or simply ignored out of convenience to staff and volunteers.  This agency’s mission begins the moment clients walk through the front door after having made the difficult decision to take back control of their lives.
 
Aside from being in complete awe of the incredible dedication the agency has made to Seattle-area individuals and families, I couldn’t help but notice how many times I heard people talking about its open-door policy. In a way, it defined the event program, ultimately giving the 200 or so attendees yet another compelling reason to pull out their check books and financially support the organization.
 
It was obvious to me that the agency had decided long ago that this would be a key differentiator between itself and other non-profits, often times competing for a limited pool of financial resources. And it was also apparent that its open-door policy was something the agency talked about often with its clients. But to call it an organizational “key message” isn’t entirely fair. The agency serves everyone who needs the help, no matter the individual’s particular circumstances. That policy has become so closely aligned with the agency’s brand that its staff likely never has to even say it out loud for the message to be delivered effectively. In fact, on this day, it was clients and donors — not staff — who were touting the agency’s open-door policy.
 
Supporting words with actions is imperative for any organization seeking to advance its brand in the hearts and minds of its customers. That’s just as true for small non-profits as multi-billion-dollar corporations. A key message will always ring hollow when the actual customer experience differs. And while it’s important to be strategic, the best key messages are those that reflect an organization’s purpose in a wholly authentic way. Those are the types of messages that generate new and repeat business and, in this case, an ongoing stream of financial support that keeps the doors open to courageous individuals starting a new chapter in their lives.
 
– Richard Kendall