What about social responsibility?

As a business owner, practicing social responsi-

bility is one way you can attempt to gain respect

from your consumers. Your social responsibil-

ity is defined as your organization’s activities

and status as it relates to societal obligations.

In other words, your social responsibility is to

make good decisions and do the right thing.

You can use social responsibility to increase

consumer awareness regarding not only your

stance on ethics, but also your commitment to

society. This leads to a positive perception on

the behalf of consumers.

In recent years, businesses have experienced

an increased pressure from consumer and

media groups to be socially responsible in their

activities. A few activities you can engage in to

fulfill this obligation include:

 ✓ Making donations to causes of interest

 ✓ Supporting minority programs

 ✓ Ensuring responsible manufacturing pro-

cesses to protect the environment

 ✓ Taking action quickly when product defects

are detected

 ✓ Focusing on employee safety

 ✓ Encouraging employees to volunteer for

local causes

What does social responsibility have to do with

consumer behavior and ethics? Socially respon-

sible marketing creates positive outcomes and

is associated with more favorable consumer

evaluations, increased consumer satisfaction,

and the likelihood of more sales. This is espe-

cially true when a consumer identifies with the

company and the causes it contributes to