What are some best practices for communicating social and environmental value to customers?

1 Tell your story

One of the most effective ways to communicate your social and environmental value is to tell your story. Your story is what makes your social enterprise unique, authentic, and relatable. It shows why you care about the problem you are solving, how you are addressing it, and what difference you are making. Your story should be clear, concise, and compelling, and it should appeal to your customers' emotions and values. You can use different channels and formats to tell your story, such as your website, social media, blog, newsletter, video, podcast, or events.

2 Measure your impact

Another best practice for communicating your social and environmental value is to measure your impact. Measuring your impact means collecting and analyzing data on the outcomes and effects of your activities on your beneficiaries, stakeholders, and the environment. Measuring your impact helps you to demonstrate your credibility, accountability, and transparency, and to communicate your results and achievements to your customers. You can use different tools and frameworks to measure your impact, such as the Theory of Change, the Logic Model, the Social Return on Investment, or the Impact Management Project.

3 Engage your customers

A third best practice for communicating your social and environmental value is to engage your customers. Engaging your customers means involving them in your social and environmental mission, and making them feel part of your community. Engaging your customers helps you to build trust, loyalty, and advocacy, and to create a positive feedback loop between your impact and your revenue. You can use different strategies and tactics to engage your customers, such as offering them incentives, rewards, or discounts for supporting your cause, inviting them to co-create solutions or products, asking them for feedback or testimonials, or encouraging them to share your story with others.

5 Educate your customers

A fifth best practice for communicating your social and environmental value is to educate your customers. Educating your customers means informing them about the issues and challenges that your social enterprise is addressing, and how they can contribute to solving them. Educating your customers helps you to raise awareness, inspire action, and change behavior, and to position yourself as an expert and a leader in your field. You can use different methods and resources to educate your customers, such as providing facts, statistics, stories, or case studies, creating educational content or campaigns, or partnering with other organizations or influencers.

6 Adapt to your customers

A sixth best practice for communicating your social and environmental value is to adapt it to your customers. Adapting to your customers means understanding their needs, wants, and motivations, and tailoring your message and approach accordingly. Adapting to your customers helps you to connect with them on a deeper level, and to increase your relevance and appeal. You can use different techniques and tools to adapt to your customers, such as conducting market research, segmentation, or persona development, using personalization or customization, or testing and optimizing your communication.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?