Cause Marketing As Tool By: Debbie Sardone A Sales Build your business and receive free advertising with good deeds. H Debbie Sardone is a popular speaker, writer and maid service business consultant. She is also the founder of Cleaning For A Reason, a nonprofit of more than 700 companies providing free house housekeeping services to women undergoing treat-ment for cancer in nearly all 50 states and Canada. Hoover, which became a major sponsor in 2010, is donating $1 to the nonprofit for every Facebook fan added at www.facebook.com/hoover. Find Sardone at www.debbiesardone.com or www.cleaningforareason.org. Hundreds of cleaning businesses all across the nation are “giving away” what they do for a living, and reaping huge benefits because of it. Large corporations have long understood the benefits of not only focusing on the first bottom line — financial — but also the second bottom line — social impact. And, when a company’s social impact becomes so well-known that the public begins to connect with the brand through its causes, you have what is called cause marketing. For years, the cleaning industry has been col-lectively passive in the area of leveraging causes to promote their business and please their cus-tomers and prospects. Most cleaning companies do “give back” in some way or another, but few enjoy the benefits of free, unprecedented publicity and endearing media exposure. The Cleaning For A Reason Foundation is help-ing to change all that. Adapt Or Die The most successful businesses are keeping cur-rent with trends and customer spending habits. People are demanding social purpose and com-panies are recognizing this as an area where they can differentiate themselves from the competition. I know of a successful commercial janitorial busi-ness in Florida that includes copies of newspaper articles from their cause-related publicity in their for-mal bid proposals. They are active supporters of the Cleaning For A Reason Foundation, and therefore are able to use the pink cancer ribbon on their marketing materials. When recently awarded a large industrial con-tract, the new customer identified his company’s for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Cleaning . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Charity . Partnering with a reputable nonprofit championing for a cause dear to you is a great way to increase your philanthropic visibility. 30 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • September 2010
CMM – Archives Sept 2010: 30
