Giving to charity not only supports those in need, it boosts your image as a company.

Kansas City, MO -- (SBWire) -- 03/23/2010 -- Women’s Health Associates didn’t start giving to charity for marketing purposes. The Kansas City-based women’s clinic was doing a staff fundraiser for Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure when an opportunity arose to involve its patients. “Our staff decorated speculums as part of an internal contest,” says WHA’s Sylvia Haverty, with a laugh. “One of the staff suggested it may be fun to display them in the waiting room and allow patients to contribute to the cause as well. People enjoyed them and thought they were quite funny.” Another opportunity came along when staff were gathering supplies for Haiti’s earth quake victims. “Someone asked if our patients might need a convenient drop off point for donations too. Why not involve them?”

"This organic approach lends your dollars to organizations you already care about and gives clients a chance to get involved with a cause that may be important to them," says Jamie Verkamp, Partner at (e)Merge. "It’s an added bonus that they get to see your compassion as a company." According to a 2008 Cone study, that bonus is big. 85% of Americans have a more positive image of a company when it supports a philanthropy they care about, and 79% say they would switch loyalties to a company associated with a good cause.

Cause-related marketing works particularly well with women. Boston Consulting Group estimates that women control $4.3 trillion of the $5.9 trillion in U.S. consumer spending, or almost ¾ of all household spending. Connie Fontaine, Manager of Brand Content and Alliances at Ford, says she’s found women are very likely to be loyal to companies that do good work. It’s this purse power that spurred the company’s 15 year, $100 million involvement with Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure. “Another bonus is that money you’d otherwise spend on direct marketing is making its way to people who need it. That’s a strategy we can all feel good about,” says Verkamp.

(e)Merge is a medical practice growth consulting firm specializing in providing innovative, patient-centric marketing initiatives and medical mystery shopping services that enhance patient experiences to increase referrals. Our programs are designed to strategically achieve sustained patient volume growth for medical practices and health organizations. For more information, please contact us toll free at 1.877.362.6584, visit us at http://www.emergewithus.com, or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eMergeMD.