Fed up of businesses aligning themselves with politics!

[thehorsehasnowbolted]

I was about to grab a turkey and cranberry sandwich yesterday at a major retailer when I noticed on the package that 5% of that purchase would go to Shelter.

Why are we being increasingly forced nowadays to contribute to causes we may not necessarily agree with in this way? Why don't businesses stick to selling goods? Why the constant virtue signalling? It's annoying

I do not intend to comment on this charity in particular, but I have seen my fair share of pensioners being out of pocket to evict problem tenants who were in a position to pay the rent and look after properties but simply didn't want to and just played the system.

The results of charities activities are not always 100% positive, so customers shouldn't be forced to contribute in this way.

Why do businesses assume that their customers agree with the charities they pick? The constant virtue signalling is patronising and insulting.

I doubt OP works anywhere where critical thinking or intellect is required to be fair, based on her behaviour on this thread...

Do you think that the way food and goods are laid out in a supermarket is random and there is no thought about where the bakery is positioned for example? Do you think the placement of the various products from the high to the low shelves is not carefully planned and thought out?

Correct. I'm not saying that businesses are not able to measure anything.

But it's not possible for them to accurately measure how much sales have increased due to charity affiliations without carrying out a controlled experiment as I mentioned upthread

OP's stance on market research is basically that if the outcome isn't in alignment with her opinion, it is therefore wrong. It must be amazing to have such confidence in one's own abilities. I hope OP doesn't work in the sciences, that would be scary.

Don't be scared. I'm surprised you haven't encountered this at 55 in your line of work. Biased research to suit funders' objectives and all that

Companies can 100% attribute revenue back to changes made to products.

Please read the thread

Or perhaps you should read the posts from the people who actually work in marketing. But hey, who needs 'experts' when we have your opinions to guide us?

It’s hilarious, there are actual experts on this thread explaining exactly how it works and OP is doing the equivalent of sticking her fingers in her ears and shouting LA LA LA LA LA

I agree with the OP. I don't agree with chuggers either. If people want to give to charity, let them do it off their own back, not because it's being pushed in their face 24/7.

It's hilarious that apparently corporations who spend millions on marketing and sales research know less than the OP sitting at home saying 30-50% of the population agrees with her, based on absolutely 0 evidence.

@pointythings I know, I am unsure why I keep replying to be honest. Glutton for punishment I guess😁

OP has decided they are right and will not change their mind

@KatherineJaneway we live in hope that at some point, the lights will go on.

It’s not a case of ‘sod the customer’. Believe me, if they were losing customers in droves and profits were negatively impacted as a result of this donation they would not continue to align themselves with this charity. The fact is, the vast majority of their customers must support, or as a minimum not particularly care either way about this donation.

The fact that you have such a strong negative response to this donation indicates to me that you are not a ‘typical’ customer of this business and your values are not aligned. I think you would be best to shop elsewhere going forward if this bothers you to this degree.

Personally I’m quite happy to have a tiny portion of my spend donated to Shelter and it’s great that they are making people aware of this so that they can make their own choice. They really don’t have to. They could take your money and donate it anywhere without even telling you. At least this way you are perfectly free to make your own choice about this, as is everyone else who may or may not buy this sandwich. I’m struggling to understand why this is bothering you so much.

Seriously, how are you still not getting this?

Businesses do not play Russian roulette with their customer bases, any decisions is based on market research and data analysis.

I'm sorry you can't understand this but for the love of your God just accept you are wrong!!

But you do get a choice. And it's not shoved in your face.

A company is affiliated with a charity and donates profits to it. You can choose if you want to buy or not. There are so many supermarkets you can really take your pick.

How many braincells need to be rubbed together for some people to get this simple concept?

OP please confirm your education and line of work? Something tells me you don't know much about anything.

Agree 👍

M&S are missing a trick here. They don't need to spend millions on marketing, they could just pay @thehorsehasnowbolted a generous consultancy fee to tell them what their customers want.

Everyone wins!

Businesses do not play Russian roulette with their customer bases, any decisions is based on market research and data analysis

Of course they do. I remember the recent outrage on MN about an ad from a major retailer showing a little child wrecking the home. Everyone talked about boycotts. never shopping there again, etc. That retailer undoubtedly spent millions on marketing research and the campaign itself. Still MN wondered how they could have got it so wrong (and they had engaged one of the top global advertising agencies - they must know their stuff, right?)

Spending millions is not a bullet proof recipe for success and you can upset your customer base.

It's also hilarious how some 'experts' on this thread keep going on about how retailers are able to measure every decision they make with equal ease (and cost). You know...because retailers can figure out how best to configure their retail space they can also, as easily, measure the exact increase in profits that a charity association of a festive sandwich will generate.

I've already said that in order to measure this properly they would have to display the same number of affiliated and non-affiliated sandwiches across all stores and measure sales of each, which obviously they are not doing.

But the bottom line is that 'forced' charity donations do not generate increased profits or brand loyalty and they can indeed send customers away

But the bottom line is that 'forced' charity donations do not generate increased profits or brand loyalty and they can indeed send customers away

And your evidence for this is... you not choosing to buy the sandwich. 😂

Again, what's your education and line of work?

Again, what's your education and line of work?

Can you explain to me how you would quantify the exact number of increased sales that this charity affiliated sandwich will generate for the retailer (vs. offering the same non-affiliated version)?

OP seems to be of the belief that unless something can be proved to be 100% right, it must therefore be 100% wrong.

Also nice way to not answer the question, OP. We're all very interested in your experience in retail, marketing and data analysis.

Or perhaps you should read the posts from the people who actually work in marketing. But hey, who needs 'experts' when we have your opinions to guide us?

I used to think sarcastically like this before covid. But I now wonder how much experts actually know about anything and how much they just guess and bluster about.

M&S have been selling sandwiches with donations to Shelter for at least a decade. I guess they've crunched the numbers at some point and decided it works for them.

But I now wonder how much experts actually know about anything and how much they just guess and bluster about

The 'experts' on this thread haven't been able to answer my question

My mistake they've been doing it since 2005 (and not just sandwiches! Items from the Christmas range)
I imagine sometime in the last 16 years they've looked at the figures.