Last week, I wrote about two groups that pay attention to the good deeds (corporate halo) businesses do and how these deeds help influence where consumers take their business.

We encourage our clients to include a corporate halo story, especially on their prospecting mail pieces. You can also use posters, print ads, and other media.

Most comply, but occasionally there’s resistances from a new client. The most-used reason they give for omitting a corporate halo story is, “We do too many things in different communities and we don’t want to single out just one.”

I don’t buy the argument. There’s a very simply solution. Rotate stories from different markets. To use an acquisition mail program for this example, in Drop 1 feature Community A’s paint-a-thon participation in the mailer. Drop 2, the story is about Community B and its food drive for the local pantry. Next mail drop, feature Community C’s participation in a Toys for Tots campaign. Most of these activities are seasonal, so the stories fit well as your mail schedule progresses through the year.

Tell your various offices what you plan to do and ask them to submit their stories. Face it, nobody in your branches will throw a tantrum because an office in another market had their good deed story printed in your prospecting mail.

If there is some portion of your network that’s sitting on its hands, collectively, then maybe they’ll be motivated to do something. Challenge them instead of making excuses or hiding the good works of another employee group.

Here’s the basic notion behind a corporate halo story. The public, especially women and Generation Y, are influenced by the good that businesses do for their communities. Those businesses include banks and credit unions. The good deeds influence consumers’ decisions to do business with those companies. So, why would you hide what your financial institution does for the community?

I always think there’s some other reason behind the excuses. The marketing staff often doesn’t want to take time to research the topic. Isn’t it your job as marketers to promote your financial institution?

Certainly, you hear about charity events, walk-a-thons, and other community activities where your branch staffs participate. You can get the details with a phone call.

It’s not that difficult and it pays off.

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Here is a sample of posts about the corporate halo topic:

Be Active in the Community

Have You Considered This Corporate Halo Idea?

Corporate Halo as the Differentiator

Question About Corporate Halo

And if you need a better definition, try Polish Your Halo.