Social enterprises’ competitive edge: Storytelling and customer participation

There’s a tornado of information coming from blogs, Twitter, Facebook and all.  So, how does a company make itself heard?  One way is by having a good story to tell. Another is an ability to engage customers and, best, allow them to participate in a larger cause.

This is good news for not only for profits, because, by the nature of their products and missions, they tend to have a good story to tell and to be able to tie their customers to a more important goal.

TerraCycle is a great example of this:

First, they score high on the coolness factor. What a great story, addressing this awful loss of resources, diverting waste from the landfill and converting it into useful products!

TerraCycle also empowers their customers to participate in their eco-capitalist vision. They offer a “brigade” program where any individual or organization can sign up to collect used packaging and send them to TerraCycle. The company’s partners like Nabisco, CapriSun, and Kashi (all those companies who make the packaging) will then contribute a few pennies to charity for each returned container. TerraCycle has formed a two-way, mutually beneficial relationship with its customers, and all for a good cause: keeping thousands of pounds of used packaging out of the landfills.

via Build Brand Through Authentic Stories – Sustainable+Brands+09 branding Social+Media Ryan+Mickle Stories.

But there are many other social enterprises doing similar things. Another poster child that comes to mind is BetterWorld Books, which sells used textbooks, gathered from on-campus volunteers. Some profits go to literacy partners.  So, it has a great story–recycling books, addressing literacy–and a way to get the troops involved.

Of course, green entrepreneurs also have a challenge: fighting their way through all the greenwashing clutter. But that’s where the two-pronged approach is important:  No greenwasher can offer an authentic story and the opportunity for genuine customer involvement.

Ultimately, I think every not only for profit needs to think these issues through, from the very beginning:  story and customer participation.   They form a real, possibly inpenetrable,  competitive advantage over the other guys.