{"id":306,"date":"2023-03-14T16:20:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T16:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bursucretleri.com\/blog\/?p=306"},"modified":"2023-03-22T18:23:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T18:23:45","slug":"the-business-of-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bursucretleri.com\/blog\/the-business-of-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"The Business Of Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a guest post by\u00a0Lynley Sides. If you\u2019d like to contribute thinking here, please\u00a0read the guidelines.<\/em><\/p>\n

Can companies boost their bottom lines by doing good during the holidays? Should they? Absolutely. And not just the big ones.<\/p>\n

Companies should\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0apologize for trying to create business value from the gift-giving or charitable giving they do. Especially this time of year, companies give gifts (a $17 billion industry) or give to charity ($6 billion) which generate goodwill and change lives for the better \u2013- all good. But today, technology and social media enable them to create tangible wins for their business through these activities as well.<\/p>\n

Consumers\u2019 expectations of company social responsibility are higher than ever and company giving is definitely moving the needle on the \u201cneed\u201d side of the equation.\u00a0 What\u2019s less clear is whether it\u2019s moving the needle on the revenue side.\u00a0 And, in these challenging times, what doesn\u2019t improve the bottom line will in the end not be sustainable \u2013 regardless of how much the company wants to do it.<\/p>\n

So how can your company, regardless of size or industry, meet expectations for doing good in ways that are good for business?<\/p>\n

Holiday gifts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At my last company, my group had a slew of vendors and we received all sorts of gifts during the holidays \u2013 wine, branded shirts, \u201ctowers\u201d of goodies, and so on. We gave most of it out around the office and some went to the landfill. The only gift I remember from those years was from a small agency,\u00a0Swirl, that gave us the opportunity to donate, on their dime, to one of a few charities \u2014 it\u2019s 10 years later and I\u2019m still talking about them.\u00a0 No doubt, some of the gifts and incentives companies are giving away this year are really cool (feel free to send that extra iPad my way), but we all know far too much of it goes to waste \u2013 literally. And the recipient probably won\u2019t tell his friends about the fruit basket.<\/p>\n

Charitable gift cards have meaning for the recipient, change lives for the better, strengthen a company\u2019s image, and won\u2019t fill up landfills.\u00a0 Some of the best alternatives:<\/p>\n