How to Run a Goodwill Campaign to Boost Customer Engagement

Sometimes, customer engagement campaigns aren’t just about customer engagement.

Creating a goodwill campaign that gives back — and helps your customers give back — is a win for everyone involved, as well as helping make the world a better place. Consumers are becoming more aware of social, political, and environmental issues and seeking out companies that are committed to these causes. Blackhawk Network research finds that 60% of survey respondents would like to purchase gift cards that give back. Among younger generations, nearly 40% say they have turned down a job or assignment that didn’t align with their personal values, according to Deloitte’s latest Gen Z and Millennial Survey.

With consumers focusing more on sustainability and philanthropy, a goodwill campaign can go a long way toward making a good impression for your brand and, in turn, building customer engagement and advocacy. Here’s how to get started.

READ MORE: 5 Steps to a Successful Marketing Rewards Campaign

1. Decide What Causes to Promote

To be effective, a goodwill campaign needs to have a little more focus than “yay, helping people!” There should be some thought and purpose behind it and the causes it will benefit. Consider one of these ways to decide:

• Tie the beneficiary to your company values or initiatives. Has your company vowed to be more eco-friendly? Then go with an environmental theme. Making a wellness push among your teams? Choose health-related causes.
• Keep it timely by looking to current events. Whatever has been going on in your region recently may be the ideal inspiration for your campaign. For example, if you’re headquartered in an area that has been hit by a natural disaster, use the opportunity to help your local community. Add that to your messaging and make the American Red Cross your beneficiary.
• Think about what’s important to your customers. Depending on the kind of business you’re in, there may be a certain cause that will resonate more with your audience. In the food industry, for example, helping fight hunger will likely make a big impact. Not sure what causes your audience cares most about? Consider running a survey to find out!

2. Get the Whole Team Involved

Don’t just think of a goodwill campaign as an opportunity for customer engagement and brand building. It’s also a great way to engage your team. Plan an employee volunteer activity that works with your campaign theme. Remember to take photos to post on social media or include in blogs and emails. It will reinforce your message to your outside audience and show that you’re truly committed to the cause, and not just a good PR boost.

3. Encourage Customers to Donate Their Rewards

No matter how you’ve incorporated digital rewards into your customer engagement programs, it’s easy to make them tie into your goodwill campaign. Whenever you send rewards for attending a webinar or demo, submitting a referral or online review, making a repeat purchase, or any other action, add relevant e-donations to your curated selection of reward options. Then, use the space in your reward delivery email to share your campaign message and encourage recipients to donate their reward instead of redeeming a gift card for personal use. Even better, commit to matching any donated rewards for the duration of the campaign!

Check out all the reward options — including charitable e-donations — that BHN Rewards offers for your customer engagement campaigns!

about the author

Hannah Prince

Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.

Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.