Gone are the days when a good product or service could ensure you a healthy share of the market. Nowadays, the competition is tough and the consumer even tougher. They want more value, more often, more or less.
But what is considered valuable to this new generation of consumer is not always what we think or value ourselves, ie: cost is not necessarily the bottom line here. Because, in the age of consumer consciousness, more people are “buying into” socially and ecology friendly products and services and putting more value on brands that subscribe to these shared values.
High up on the socially-conscious list is charitable giving, but of the new-age kind that makes giving and donating painless, if not automatic. A firm favourite is the “buy one give one away” business model which allows the consumer to buy the brand’s product, knowing that the same quality product will be given to a person in need.
A good example of this is Australian brand, Baby Teresa, which manufactures and sells cotton “onesies” for babies and, for each one purchased, donates another to a baby in need somewhere in the world.
Every time a consumer buys IKEA’s solar-powered SUNNAN LED desk lamp, another one is donated to UNICEF who give it to children without electricity in refugee camps and remote villages.
Now in it’s fourth year, the partnership between Procter & Gamble and UNICEF is still going strong. Each time a pack of Pampers or Fairy brands bearing the special logo is purchased, the medical giant donates the cost of a vaccine to UNICEF.
Even football teams are getting in on the socially-conscious game. Barcelona FC features the UNICEF logo on the front of the club’s premier football jersey, giving UNICEF an estimated brand exposure of 20 million Euros a year. (It looks like UNICEF is well ahead of the game on this one than most.)
In South Africa, Bobsforgood (www.bobsforgood.co.za) is a relatively new social enterprise that is making a difference through this very model. Started by Bob Skinstad and Ron Rutland, the business gives away a pair of brand new school shoes to a child in need for every pair of “quality, South African manufactured bobsforgood shoes” sold through the business.
What is really interesting to me is that this kind of embedded value crosses all industries and services and no longer falls under the patronage of big corporate brands. You don’t even have to manufacture or sell a product that would be of value to the needy; you just have to find an opportunity that speaks to your brand and customers’ innate values.
Perhaps it’s time for existing and startup transport and logistics businesses to start thinking of incorporating new business models that would generate a win-win situation for all.
Perhaps we should start by looking at what we (or our suppliers) often waste – like space for instance. Space is a commodity you could offer a charity, or even one that your client already support.
What about a model like – pay for 90% of the container; give 10% away to a charitable cause of your clients’ choosing? Now there’s a thought.
