Why random acts of kindness could strengthen your brand

Altruism is the term given to random acts of kindness that benefit others without expectation of reciprocity.

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How can this strengthen your brand?

The answer is simple: Doing good things makes you feel good, and when you feel good, you make good decisions for your brand. When this becomes a habit, you unwittingly create a virtuous circle in which good decisions breed good outcomes.

Altruism has been shown to improve wellbeing, both for the recipients of kind acts and for those who deliver them. Doing good things causes our bodies to release "happy hormones" such as serotonin and oxytocin, so being kind to others is also a way of being kind to yourself.

As a business owner, you are uniquely positioned to make a difference in other peoples' lives.

You can perform random acts of kindness for your staff and customers and encourage them to do the same. Very quickly and with only a little encouragement, you could be the driving force behind a powerful message that your brand supports its people.

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How to get started

As with all things, getting started is the hardest step. Here are some tips for making the leap into altruism in business.

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Engage your staff

Let your employees know that you plan to do good things and see what ideas they have. You could add all of the feasible ideas to an online spinner or into a hat and pick one out each day, week or month. By engaging your staff, you not only generate more ideas for how to do good, but you involve them in your journey from the outset and inspire them to continuously improve their performance, motivate them, and reward their loyalty and participation.

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Offer discounts and giveaways

You may choose to reward customers at random or those who are loyal to your brand. You could even incentivize new customers to shop with you by offering free samples, advice or discounts. You could run competitions or treat returning customers to a free gift (for example, buy 4 coffees and get the 5th free).

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Let word of mouth work

This is one area where social media is your friend - but only if you stay quiet! Shouting about your altruistic efforts will undermine your cause and take you from genuine acts of kindness to simply a marketing tactic. You want the recipients of your random acts of kindness to be the ones to talk about it and spread the word about how your business or your staff treated them and how they feel as a result.

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Random acts of kindness can inspire your staff, show your customers that they are valued, and strengthen your brand.

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