What is cause related marketing? Cause related marketing is when your business publicly sponsors or donates money, time and/or services to a charitable organization. In the process of support or sponsorship, your bottom line benefits by the exposure and dedication.

Here are some tips to consider when choosing a "cause".

Make the cause related to your target market. The last thing you want to do is offend your target market. Avoid causes that are political, controversial, religious, racist, sexist, and class-centric. To determine suitable causes, you might poll your employees or send surveys to a random sampling of customers offering gift certificates to a local florist or CD emporium. Lastly ask for feedback at your web site; people love to give their opinion especially for a worthy cause.

Think regional or local. Supporting the well-being of Mongolian children is a good cause but it's not your target market. Shorewood Realtors is the largest independent Realtor company in Los Angeles County. The headquarters is in Manhattan Beach, California. They give a percentage of profits in perpetuity to the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. Realtors supporting schools is a great idea. This highly rated school district is one of the top reasons families want to buy houses and live here.

Believe in the cause. Don't pick a trendy cause du jour. Research it and feel passionate about it. Think about the human-interest possibilities. Grace Geniusz, president of Goodness Gracious, Inc. donated 10% of after-tax profits to breast cancer research. A few years ago, experimental breast cancer therapies saved her life. She recently sold her company but previously formed her own foundation that donated to breast cancer related organizations. Make contacts within the charity. Get to know and schmooze with the board of directors and movers and shakers. Don't be an anonymous participant; remember this is about building business relationships. Encourage your employees to donate some of their time to the organization too.

Be consistent. Follow through with your promise. If it doesn't work out the way you thought, give it another chance. Charitable organizations have a high turnover of volunteers and staff and you just might be the rock they need. The best way to get branded is through consistency.

Now get busy; the rewards of giving are a greatly enhanced byproduct to your business ethic.