Customer Crossroads

Engaging your customers in charitable projects: ishareworks

I heard about an interesting business idea, where a promotional products business decided to let customers give away 10% of their revenue to registered charities. Kind of a nifty idea, and I had a chance to ask the business owner, Esbert Cardenas Jr., a few questions in an e-mail interview.

Esbert, I understand you have a program called iShare where you donate a portion of your profits to charities that customers choose. Can you give me a quick overview – how does it work?

iShare is a way for the customers of my business, Image Outfitters, to support charities that they care about with the money they already pay us. Without changing the cost of their order for custom promotional products, I give all customers the option of donating 10% of the revenue to the nonprofit organization of their choosing. This model allows for funding of hyper-local organizations in my customers’ communities, or donations to larger national charities—it’s not up to me, though. My customers can choose any 501 (c)(3) nonprofit.

I’m really interested in innovation, and this seems like kind of an innovative idea. What made you think of it?

Back in 2008 my wife Kirsten and I noticed that many of the nonprofit organizations that we supported personally were suffering from underfunding tied to the economic recession. The recession also hit small businesses like mine, so we thought of iShare as a way to attract new business while supporting a diverse group of charitable organizations. Our mantra is “Learn, earn, and return.” We spent 14 years learning and earning.  Now it is our turn to return to those in need.  This innovation has helped our business grow in a way that we feel good about, because our customers are helping so many nonprofits along the way. 

I’m curious about the reaction from your customers. Did you ask any of them first, or just launch the program? And how did that work?

We did talk with a few existing customers about the idea and kicked off the iShare program by offering the donation option to them. We wanted to make sure the program ran smoothly before launching on a larger scale.  Before we could make an official announcement, over $7,000 had been donated to charity.

Our customers love that they can give to charity with money they were

already planning to spend, and that they can choose any nonprofit. This option puts their money back into their communities, and that’s very important to a lot of our customers.  

Were there any speedbumps along the way – anything you had to change or rethink?

If I could go back, I think I would have kicked off iShare with a big formal announcement of the program rather than a soft launch. We weren’t entirely sure how our customers would react but with hindsight we would definitely launch iShare nationally from Day 1 if we could go back. 

What tips would you have for another business owner who wanted to do something similar?

I would say to go for it! Our customers love iShare because funding is restored to their charity without altering their budgets, and we feel satisfied knowing we can give back as well. iShare has attracted many new customers to Image Outfitters and the nonprofits at the center of the program are receiving new funding to support their mission. It’s a win-win any way you slice it.

Whether you’re a frugal business owner trying to balance corporate costs with charitable giving or a nonprofit executive director seeking innovative ways to fundraise, iShare can meet that need.

Thanks, Esbert, for a nice story to take into the Christmas season.

 

Customer context: urban versus suburban transportation

I'm continuing the thread from the last couple of posts where I spent a brief period in Manhattan, and was flooded with insights.[Something of a professional problem for people like me, we never shut it off.]

After speaking at an industry event held on a Friday afternoon, there was a wine and cheese reception. An event like this in my city would have people being very cautious about their wine consumption, and many people would not have any, because they were driving.

But at this event, almost everyone had a glass, and some had two or more. I don't think a single person drove themselves to that meeting. (see the earlier post about parking).

Context influences a tremendous number of behavioral decisions your customers make every day of the week. Without a little insight into context, you can make really dumb mistakes. On the other hand, having that nugget of insight can help you find opportunities that no one else has found.

What's your WIFM?

I got an enquiry today from a construction company that needs a new tag line for their business. They specialize in green construction.

The owners have identified that there is little WIFM in just telling someone you specialize in green construction. And that that's a problem for them.

WIFM of course if the What's In It For Me, and your customer communications need to make that clear.

It's not just big marketing behemoths that need to offer benefits, we all do. So I was pretty impressed that a small local home builder would identify this marketing challenge and reach out.

I'm more of a specialist in finding customer insight and using it to create some sort of innovation, but I was happy to pass his enquiry on to a marketing rock star that specializes in small business.

It's a great question to ask yourself. What's your WIFM?

Observing your customers where they live, work and play: urban or suburban?

I was speaking in Manhattan at an industry event, and had a chance to observe a different city up close for a few hours walking around. It reminded me how important it is to marketers to see how their customers really live.

I stayed with a friend, and got to see a Manhattan apartment up close. This one was lovely and much larger than average at about 750 square feet. In fact, apartments in New York City are likely to get smaller, according to planners. There is currently a law requiring new apartments to be at least 400 square feet in size.

It's not just New York that has this challenge -- some other urban areas do, too, such as San Francisco.

Curation of space

Objects in a personal space like this must be carefully curated, and they are. This is not Costco and Walmart country by any means. Not because of the prices, but because of the size and quantity of stuff. You just don't need or want a lot of stuff in a small space.

People who choose to live in this kind of density think differently about how they spend personal time than people who live in a sprawling place in the suburbs. They value their location highly, or they wouldn't pay the price to live there.

It's just a completely different mindset, and one you really need to understand if you want to gain access to one of the world's biggest markets. 

By the same reasoning, if you are a marketer who lives in a small apartment in Manhattan, you'd do well to remind yourself that life in Springville is very different. And it's different in ways that might surprise.

And really, there's no substitute for actually observing these things up close. I was just learning all this on a virtual drive-by, not a deep dive. Imagine what we would learn if we really set out to explore a topic like this.

When we assume that others are "just like us", we are usually wrong.

Context is everything: to understand your market, get out there

If you don't understand how your customers live, work and play, you will make dumb mistakes. It's crucial to get into their environment and into their frame of mind. Because we tend to assume things are the same everywhere, and they just aren't.

I had the pleasure of a short trip to Manhattan to speak at an industry event, and was just overwhelmed with observations. 

Here's one for you -- check out the photos below -- parking:

 

Bicycle parking

I have never seen paid bicycle parking before. In most cities, the bicycles are just chained up here and there. In my own city, we have cleverly designed things to chain them to. But I did not see this on the streets of Manhattan, which made me wonder if the rules are different there.

Segmenting your parking customers - bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, cars and limos

The price segmentation is pretty interesting too. $1 a day or $20 per month for a bicycle is probably what you can charge when the alternative is taking it up to your office. Much more, and people would figure out something else. And the bikes can go on the walls, so it's an easy expansion to make to utilize some wasted space.

Motorcycles take up more room than scooters, so they pay more.

But limos paying more than other cars is interesting. Is it because they can? Because they are a business, not a just someone's personal car? After all, there's only so much you can learn from a sign, and I didn't talk to the parking attendant.

Customer experience in a parking garage

I have never seen a parking special quite like the one in the second photo.All the signage looks great doesn't it?

And just look at how beautiful and bright and nice this place is. Parking in urban centres may come at a premium, but it is still very competitive. In a place like this, you want maximum occupancy all the time, so it makes sense to make the place nice.

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