With 82% of Indian consumers choosing to stay loyal to companies that stand for a larger, shared cause, marketers and industry experts say that CSR will now play a strategic role in building reputation, trust and brand value
The link between business and community is as old as civilization. Take a look at some of India’s biggest companies and conglomerates and you will find that their strong reputations are closely linked with the fact that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been at the heart of their businesses. With the Indian Companies Act coming into effect from 2014 in India, mandating companies to spend at least 2% of their profits on CSR, there has been a significant shift in the way India Inc. looks at CSR. Moreover, with technology empowering consumers to voice their opinions, a brand’s purpose beyond profit has become a clear differentiation. This then begs the question – how can CSR be leveraged by companies to build brands?