The Democratisation Of Internet Cause Marketing Communication: A Strategic Proposition For Brand Sustainable Social Impact And Doing Well By Doing Right

The conducting of business profitably whilst also supporting a social cause is of eminent traction in recent years, so much that it is usually a major consideration in a business operational strategy (James Chambers. 2013). An even greater and preponderant drive is the use of the internet to conduct business processes to the extent that doing business online is a business requirement (OFT 2005, Sangeeta 2008). The internet is benefiting millions of people and thousands of Businesses. This paper examines an internet retail cause-marketing model that could empower the community to influence, the direction of social involvement of online businesses serving them. It involves the providing of an internet shopping infrastructure that aligns non-profits with internet businesses so that consumers can reward and patronise businesses inspired by donations made to their chosen charities/non-profits, contingent upon purchases made. A model in which customers can choose a charity/non-profit to benefit from the cash back or rebate triggered by their shopping habits presents a win-win scenario on the table so that businesses can focus on their core operation processes whilst the consumers they serve determine the social causes that benefits from their brand loyalty or patronage, in tandem. Practical issues that undermine this for-profit and non-profit alliance are discussed, and an attempt to proffer possible succinct recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of this model are made.