It's that time of the year again. Have you been nice in 2009? Or have you been up to something that Father Christmas might consider naughty? Either way, there's still time to do some good deeds and get on his better side. You might be rewarded with some nice stuff under the Christmas tree - or, even better, that nice, warm and fuzzy holiday feeling.
Does that sound a bit sappy to you? Or have you had an overdose of Christmas carols and gingerbread already? We hear you. However, this doing good stuff is relevant to your business in 2010!
There is a rapidly increasing proportion of consumers who realize that it is up to them to make a difference. Many are disillusioned by regulators' ability to inject some ethics into business, and choose to take matters in their own hands by voting with their wallets.
The trendwatching briefing on 10 crucial consumer trends for 2010 includes (at least) two items that Santa would agree on: Eco-Easy and Embedded Generosity. We urge you to check out the details and some nice examples on their site. Essentially, these trends boil down to empowering consumers to do good by buying your product, generating a substantial benefit for your brand.
We would like to point out how to capitalize on the doing good megatrend in your web services.
Here's a quick list:
- Incorporate eco-friendliness and/or charitability in your business model. The modern consumer is savvy enough to see through you bluff if you only claim to be doing good.
- If you got it, flaunt it. Be sure to let your audience know about the good you are doing. A word for the wise, though: be subtle enough not to seem preachy or holier-than-thou.
- Empower the user to do good by using your services without hassle. This is the big one. Your customers will feel good about themselves if they can make an active choice to do good themselves. But it should not require extra effort from them to do so - otherwise it can cause frustration that may turn against what you are trying to accomplish.
- Make sure your concept, interaction and visual design reflects your good intentions. This is not quite as simple as using a lot of green colour, so be sure to have a good design team working for you.
Finally, our recommendation of a web service empowering you to do good this holiday season is Kiva. Kiva allows you to loan money aspiring entrepreneurs in developing countries, directly helping individuals to make a living for themselves and their families - and helping to build up their local economy in the process. What we love about this is that once the loan has been repaid, you can easily channel the money to another loan, enabling you to help several people around the world with a modest initial investment.