Corporate social responsibility: the pressure on B2B brands to take a stance

Many B2B brands are now looking to develop their corporate social responsibility plans. 

At Copestone, a key role that our account managers play is interpreting a client’s brief, setting the idea down in print using the correct tone of voice to produce copy that gets to the heart of what that client wants. And one of the wants that we’ve seen increasingly is the development of a focussed corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan.

CSR as the priority 

Amongst all the trend predictions we saw at the beginning of the year, one of the major forecasts was that social responsibility will become a priority in 2022. This trend has already established itself within B2C marketing, with 45% of B2C marketers reporting their plan to increase their social responsibility commitment. However, there is a growing expectation from consumers that B2B brands also take a stance on social issues, and B2B marketers are facing the pressure to increase their CSR efforts in 2022.

Helping brands develop CSR plans is an incredibly important part of our business, and a service we take an increasing amount of pride in. We are privileged to be able to look behind the scenes of our client’s business to better understand the core aspects of its DNA. With that understanding in place, we are then able to investigate how the client wants to steer their business in the future.

Who do we help? 

Sometimes a client is a start-up, taking their first tentative steps in business and looking to lead with their values. Other times they are a seasoned entrepreneur, redefining their brand and looking for guidance on how best to communicate its personality and ethos to the audience. We also work with larger, more established brands that are coming to realise they have a greater role to play in society. These brands want to create a culture of corporate responsibility, and live and breathe the values outlined in their CSR policy.

In almost every instance, the people behind the brand are aware of their responsibility in driving change, raising standards, and delivering on the promise that consumers are looking for. And with millennials increasingly in the driving seat, this has never been more important. Research shows that nine in ten millennials would switch brands for a cause, and are prepared to pay more for a brand that shows investment in CSR.

What does the future look like for brands and CSR? 

More effort is being made to build ethical supply chains, greater focus is being placed on becoming a stakeholder-priority company, and there is an increasing emphasis on ensuring that staff welfare is kept at a premium. A survey in 2021 found that 68% of HR leaders rated employee mental health as a top priority. In 2022 we expect brands to promote this even further.

Because of the experience we have within our team across content creation and business strategy, and our holistic approach to growth, we are able to work with founders, SMEs, and larger corporates to extract the underlying desire in their initial brief. Once teased out, we flesh out those desires, and provide a first draft of the CSR policy. We will then work with the client as we iterate and refine the CSR policy to make sure the language and tone of voice is appropriate for the brand.

We may simply codify the language to describe practices already taking place, putting frameworks and words around the intentions of the business. We don’t engage in greenwashing, nor do we gloss over imperfections. We recognise that every business is at a different stage in its life and will craft a CSR policy accordingly.

To unlock the hidden value of a well-crafted approach to CSR and find out the benefits to your bottom line of expertly written content, contact us today. We are always happy to meet face-to-face or virtually to discuss how we can support your growth.

If you need support to write engaging, audience-driven content for your B2B brand or agency, contact Copestone today.