A couple posts ago, we spoke about the significance of Shared Value to brand loyalty. Consumers who see their services supplemented with some sort of social utility are far more likely to place emphasis on which business helps them achieve their desires. The question is, how does a business and demonstrate shared value in a sincere way? It’s quite simple actually.

Prove it.

Talk is cheap. Demonstrate your business’s commitment to something through meaningful action. Let’s take a look at an example and some methods for how this could be done.

Free Stuff

Free stuff, everyone loves it. Offering a free service or product which helps customers achieve their ends without demanding any return from them helps create a feeling of gratitude and trust between a consumer and a business.

Take for example Columbia’s new, free app, “What Knot to do.”

  What Knot to do is an app that guides users step-by-step through the process of creating a multitude of rope knots.

Besides being useful to the app users, it’s also a great marketing technique and does a great job to demonstrate shared value.

The theme of the app jibes with the atmosphere Columbia likes to create around their brand: the great outdoors, the sense of adventure, and engaging in both while maintaining a sense of style. The app does all of the above while still not explicitly advertising Columbia’s products.

This app helps customers achieve the ideals that Columbia appeals to, and establishes Columbia as the conduit through which to do so. Columbia practiced what they preach, and customers will remember them for it.

If you do not have the capacity to create an expensive app, there are other methods to demonstrate shared value.

• Get involved with the community. Attend local events, service projects relating to your value, and make your presence known during.

• Emphasize the customer’s role in achieving this shared value, everyone likes to feel as if they are making an impact.

• Become a recognized name in the field of whatever value you are promoting. If you are involved in educational products, write Op-ed’s, blog posts; become a reputable authority on your value.

With demonstrated commitment, your business will have a reputation for sincere action and will be more trusted by the consumer.

The tips above should help you achieve that reputation, but there is something which should never be discounted and will make the process exponentially easier. Have a passion for what your business is attempting to do; consumers will take notice.