We discovered something very important when we got a call one day from a neighborhood non-profit looking for a donation for a kids-after-school park. We had no money for a cash donation but we did have product which we donated for their fundraiser. As a result, the membership of that non-profit was able to sample our products and saw that we supported their cause. Sales in the nearby retail account took off.

When we finally put it together that sales were up in that store because we supported the local neighborhood fundraiser, we decided to try it in another neighborhood. It worked! Then we realized that we didn’t have to give up our true passion which was conservation and civil rights just because we were in business. We realized that we could support worthy causes that were worthy of us, our brand, and our products as a way of getting the word out in lieu of costly advertising that we couldn’t afford anyway.

In fact it worked so well that even when we could afford commercial advertising we did not do it. And we discovered something else that was very important yet subtle. The members of the non-profits we supported not only selected our products when they had a choice, but they actively promoted them to friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. They also promoted our products through their networks by thanking us for our support.

We began to realize another important lesson. Part of the discovery process that makes people want to share their discovery is not only the knowledge that the product is great, but also and most importantly, that the person they are turning on to the product couldn’t have known about it any other way. They believe this precisely because they have seen no commercial advertising. They know they will be gratified when their friend says, “Thanks for the great recommendation! We tried it and you were right. It’s great!” So now we had a business reason not to advertise, because the folks who were spreading the news by word of mouth would simply stop if they saw the commercial ads!

So isn’t this just another type of cause marketing? Not quite. The biggest distinction we can make between Worthy Cause Marketing and Cause Marketing is that within Cause Marketing, the support for the cause is advertised to the general public in the hopes that the general public will chose your brand because you are doing good. In Worthy Cause Marketing however, the support for the cause is not advertised to the general public, but is only known to the non-profits’ members and their supporters.

In both cases the decision to support the cause is a sincere intent to help that cause achieve its goals, but the process differs substantially. We have found that Worthy Cause Marketing creates a loyal following when practiced year after year on a long-term basis.

We were honored to be the keynote speakers today at the prestigious Pepperdine University in Southern California at the Margaret J. Weber Distinguished Lecture Series. Given the school’s admirable commitment to social entrepreneurship, we thought no topic could be more appropriate than Worthy Cause Marketing, a driving influence behind the success of the world’s largest wine brand. We hope that our demonstrated success will encourage start-ups, growth-phase and established companies to use Worthy Cause Marketing in their own businesses. We believe they will see, just as we did, that doing good is just plain good business!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Worthy Cause Marketing Makes Dollars and Sense appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Many of the students start their own businesses even before they graduate. Others are set on venturing out on their own with great apps, scientific breakthroughs and consumer products right after graduation. Still others are considering becoming entrepreneurs. Where they all come together with successful entrepreneurs, faculty, and a fun party is at their annual Mixer.

The students themselves organize and run the Mixer, deciding on the theme, program, presentations and speakers. This year’s theme was networking and why it is essential for business success. We were honored to be their keynote speakers.

Over 250 students showed up in festive attire to partake in an evening of networking, socializing and inspiration. Several students took the stage to describe their own businesses and how they got them launched. Industry leaders were there to encourage the crowd.

Our focus was on how important networking was to our success. We told them to first identify the customer, then understand that everybody who touches your product is your customer. Find out what each person at every level of the distribution channel needs. Most were surprised to hear that success has less to do with their product or service, but is more about the all-important personal relationships.

We warned against “falling in love with your product” so much so that you discount the effect distribution has on your product’s success. Barefoot succeeded not just because it was a great value with a catchy label and unique positioning, we told them, but more importantly, because it made it through the legal, distribution, and retail systems which enabled it to actually get to the customer. This took extensive relationships at every level of many networks.

We did not stop at satisfying our customers’ mercantile needs. We found out what they were interested in beyond our product category and that was conservation, human rights, education and the arts. By supporting the causes our customers held dear, we gave them a social reason to choose our products.

We advised the students to similarly take a close look at their customers’ interests at every level, from their own employees to their wholesalers, the sales managers, salespeople, retailers, clerks, and all the way to their end-user and beyond, the groups to which he/she belongs. We believe in the power of seeing things from the other person’s perspective by putting yourself in the other person’s shoes.

Worthy Cause Marketing is a concept we pioneered that supports nonprofit groups in the hopes that their goals would be realized and that their members would choose to use the products and services of an ally. By working with these groups, entrepreneurs can gain access to a network that is already established and that would otherwise take years to achieve through expensive commercial advertising.

We emphasized that ultimately face time beats Facebook and high touch beats high tech when it comes to gaining and keeping the trust of your network. We encouraged them to get out from behind their screen and physically meet their distributers and customers.

Our goal was to encourage these aspiring Norwegian entrepreneurs by showing them the course our products had to take to get to market. We gave them concrete examples of how we used networking, support for worthy causes and personal relationships to become successful. One student said afterwards, “Wow! You made me feel like I can do it too!” We couldn’t have asked for more.

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Norway’s University of Science and Technology at Trondheim Sparks the Entrepreneurial Spirit appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.