Emotional Engagement: leveraging success in business and charity

Increasing brand awareness, convincing your audience to invest and building brand engagement. Are these all familiar key drivers of your marketing strategy, whether you are a sole trader, SME or corporate business? These business drivers are also vitally important in the most effective not-for-profit or charity organisations. Surprised or already convinced?

Another week, another hard-hitting disaster in the news driving us through charity campaigns to give generously to bring relief aid to those suffering. Emotional engagement is powerful, something successful charities build upon in their campaigning and fundraising work.

I believe businesses and charities have much to learn from one another, so why isn’t there more engagement?

Look at what other successful organisations are doing. Effective charities build a Case for Support which is used with major donors giving evidence of the impact achieved through their work. Appealing to positive emotions of transformation, proactive action and building confidence and dignity.

Try using all the human senses in your communications. Reading fact sheets and brochures have their place, but how about reflecting on transferable learning from videos showing joy and peacebuilding though the service delivery of an charity? Have you tried running a taste event like a food festival? Charities take people on journeys to feel what its like. How often do you offer a potential client on the inside track of your business?

Of course financial returns might not be seen immediately. Infact engaging with a charity of significant impact as a business will most likely mean investment of resources to save lives or make a real difference to the world’s poor. But the payback can be huge. Not only are lives being transformed, and that is an awesome privilege in itself, but also consider the emotional engagement brand building potential. A greater likelihood of repeat purchases, more cross-sales potential and greater intangible competitive advantage. Does that sound intriguing?

Effective use of a limited PR budget is vital for effective both charities and businesses alike. Charities are arguably ahead of the curve when it comes to engaging new technology in communication, adapting to the changing environment and challenging an increasingly de-sensitised audience. The use of social media for messaging, referrals and micro-investments enables small organisations to have a larger and louder voice, leveraging significant impact.

So, are you convinced yet? The IoD in Oxfordshire connects a significant network of hundreds of businesses. There are also hundreds of excellent charities in the area, many of their Directors are part of the IoD. If you want to increase your reach, build brand buy-in and make a positive impact, what have you got to loose?

Andy Dipper

IoD Branch Committee Public Relations Officer & Deputy Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide