When You Do Good Through Business, Let It Show

Niina Ollikka

Many social enterprises do enormously important work every day: they build a more sustainable society, solve challenges related to well-being and use their profits to advance their purpose. Yet one question keeps coming up: how can this be communicated clearly and credibly at a glance?

Making social impact visible with one mark

The Social Enterprise Mark answers exactly this need. It makes a company’s social impact and business model for good visible in a way that is easy for customers and stakeholders to understand and trust. The mark is based on clear criteria and independent assessment. At the same time, it gives companies a practical tool for communications, sales and strengthening their employer image.

How to use the Social Enterprise Mark in everyday work

The Social Enterprise Mark can be used in many ways. Have you considered how your company could use the mark so that it communicates your activities as broadly and clearly as possible? The key benefits of the mark include:

Trust and differentiation
When the mark is included in communications, it shows at a glance that the company’s purpose is about more than simply making a profit. Social enterprises do social good alongside their business activities.

Support for sales and marketing
According to Finnish Work’s member survey, 87% of respondents feel that the mark supports marketing and sales. It helps put the value proposition into words and strengthens customer trust.

Making impact visible
As many as 94% of respondents to the member survey feel that the mark highlights the social good created by the company. Good work does not remain hidden when it is easy to recognise.

Easy to use in different encounters
The mark can be used wherever customers are. It can be used in digital channels, business premises, events and recruitment, as well as in different documents such as requests for tender. The mark is a consistent identifier across different contexts.

Clarity for communications
The mark has two basic criteria: producing social good and directing profits back into the company’s own operations so that more social good can be created. These criteria describe the core of your activities: what you do and why.

Attractiveness for people and partners
Value-based, impact-driven business speaks to people. It helps attract the right talent, engage personnel and build partnerships with operators that share the same values. Let your purpose show.

When a social purpose is at the heart of a company’s operations, it should be visible. The Social Enterprise Mark makes this easier and provides a concrete, recognisable way to communicate impact to customers, partners and employees alike. The Social Enterprise Mark shows that your company carries responsibility for the common good.

I would be happy to discuss using the mark further, so please do get in touch. I would be glad to help you explore how to make more practical use of the mark.

Niina Ollikka

Marketing Manager

Niina Ollikka works as the Marketing Manager of the Finnish Work association and is responsible for the Social Enterprise Mark. Niina has a Master’s degree in Political Science and her studies focused on social psychology and communications. Her previous years of work have been spent in marketing communications, for example in the operator and financial sectors.