J.D. Associates Retail POS Solutions Blog

Giving Back

Many ordinary people in this world view most large corporations as nothing more than self-serving, greedy entities with insatiable appetites for making huge profits.  Well, for two hours last Saturday night, that perception was altered by most major television networks when they aired the commercial-free "Hope for Haiti Now" Concert.  To date, and still counting, those two commercial-free hours have raised over 57 million dollars for the Haitian-relief effort.   Those two "prime time" hours could have generated millions of dollars in advertising revenue for the networks, but, for whatever reasons, the network execs saw fit to give something back to the people who are going through an unthinkable tragedy.  If you watched this program of painful mourning and steadfast hope, did you notice that the performers were not introduced and there was no applause?  Humbling humility was the name of the game that night as it should have been.  The Cause rose above all self-centered egos and concerns.

So, how does this relate to retail?  In spite of living through an extremely difficult retail climate, we still have our businesses, and we are still part of the community.  The question is how much do we as retailers give back to the communities who help put food on our tables by being our customers?   Do we sponsor a local or national charity and support it throughout the year or do we donate a few bucks around the holidays?

Although customers like to shop stores that carry the merchandise they want, they also like to feel good about the stores where they shop.  A hot topic in retail these days is "customer loyalty."  Most good POS systems have customer loyalty add-ons which track customer purchases and provide rewards.  But customer loyalty is more than accumulating points; it also has to be earned.  Customers keep coming back to a store because they want to come back.  They get what they need, and they feel good about the customer experience.  Customers feel good about doing business with stores which embrace social responsibility.  Why don't you think about adopting a Cause that you truly believe in or expanding your involvement with a Cause you already support.  Customer loyalty will follow.