You Must Give Back
In week six of the first season, Mr. Trump had the teams meet him in
front of Wollman Rink to give that week’s assignment.
The famous ice skating rink in
Wollman Rink was built in 1950, and then closed for renovation in 1980.
In 1986, millions of dollars had been spent and the rink was nowhere near
finished. The city actually
announced that it was starting the whole process over from scratch.
Fed up with the city’s failure to renovate the rink, Trump stepped in.
After negotiating with the city officials who didn’t want his
involvement, Trump assumed the renovation project and had it completed in
approximately five months and under the three million dollar budget he had set.
Trump really does get a kick when he looks out the window of
Reputation is an important component for why people give a company their business. Different factors have been important to how people perceive a business’s reputation, including longevity, the business return policy, and ever increasingly the companies’ activity in the community.
The task Trump assigned the teams from rink side consisted of giving back through an auction at Sotherby’s for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Each team had five celebrities to work with. The task was to create a personal experience with each celebrity to be auctioned off. Combined, the teams raised $75,000 for the charity.
Week eight of season three found the teams Magna and Net Worth also raising money for The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The teams worked with artists in the music industry to create a personal experience to be auctioned off during a live segment of FUSE TV. Net Worth raised $11,325 and Magna raised $21,654 for a total of $32,979 for the charity. Trump told the teams that everyone had received the reward of helping raise a lot of money for a worthy cause and there was no other reward for the Magna team members that week.
Not only did some tasks raise money for charities, but the teams themselves raised money for charities on their own. During episode two of the second series, Andy suggested that they donate a portion of the proceeds from selling ice cream to a charity to help boost sales. At Kevin’s suggestion, the group chose the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. When Mosaic won the task, Kelly asked if all of his team’s sales could go to the charity and Trump said yes. We cannot be certain if the ice cream sales were helped by the charitable donation, but we can be sure that charitable contributions and community activities are important for businesses.
C. Britt Beemer and Robert L. Shook’s research for It Takes a Prophet to Make a Profit revealed the following important community activities for companies: Sponsoring employee child sports teams, giving profits to local charities, helping needy children at Christmas, Assuming leadership in a local crisis, having a college scholarship fund, being a major supporter of United Way, working phones for MS/Easter Seals, hiring more minorities, and having a leadership position in Rotary/Kiwanis/Lions Club. This demonstrates that nice guys do win.
Spending time and money on community causes is not only a nice thing to do, but something that also enhances the bottom line. Years ago, community involvement may not have been much of a consideration for patronizing a business or company, but in today’s society it is an important consideration. Beemer and Shook’s research shows that many consumers look closely at corporate giving as the tiebreaker when deciding where to shop. In addition, a high profile in the community is increasingly vital to attracting consumers. Benevolence is reason enough for community involvement, but it is not only virtuous but a generator of revenue.
Customer service is one of the most important components in determining which company gets a person’s business. Not surprisingly, seventy percent of the respondents asked by Meemer and Shook if they believed that a company active in the community affairs takes better care of customers responded yes. Does a company that nurtures its community also look out for its customers? Consumers think so, and if you are a business leader, you better think so too.
Do be careful of what charity you choose to support. Obviously you must choose a charity that is reputable and above the board. If you team up with an organization that gets in trouble, it may bring you down with it and at the very least tarnish the reputation you desire to build.
In addition, if teaming with a charity is going to help your sales and bottom line it must be a charity that appeals to your customer or consumer base. During the second season, episode seven of The Apprentice, Andy again wanted to donate part of the profits to a charity. It worked well during week two for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, so why not team up with another charity for the dog service business? The team struck out making a deal with the fire department due to procedures the fire department had to adhere to regarding funds, so Project Manager, Wes, set Andy free to find a charity for his idea. Andy proceeded to make a deal with Kitty Kind, a cat shelter. This surprised the lady at Kitty Kind when Andy told her they were washing dogs, but Andy assured her that because they were an animal shelter, even though for cats, it was all the same. He seemed proud of this until the team lost and he faced Trump in the boardroom. Trump thought Kitty Kind, a cat charity, was a pretty bad charity with respect to dogs. He told Andy, “The last thing dogs want to know is they are helping cats.” So look to helping charities and your community for the reward of raising money for worthy causes and helping the communities you live in, but also realize that you can also help your bottom line through these ventures. Just be sure you choose which organizations to help wisely.