Direct Mail Resources | Reachdesk

How to be loved by your customers, your employees, AND the planet

Written by Alex Olley | Jul 7, 2021 4:00:00 AM

We talk a big game, right? Well, allow us to show you how we walk that walk to help create a world where businesses are loved by their customers, their team, and their planet. 

Concerns about climate chaos and the terrifying global impact of being careless with the planet is something that keeps us up all night. 

We also know that everyone is trying to do their bit to make the world a better place. Whether that’s reducing the amount of plastic waste or increasing the amount of recycling you do, we’re absolutely on board with people doing what they can to help the planet. 

We just think that businesses should be doing their bit too: and we’re not alone.

The HSBC Made for the Future report highlights that 69% of businesses will be focusing their budgets on more sustainable manufacturing, 66% will be improving internal practices, and 63% will be updating building and equipment. 

From the early days of Reachdesk, we were determined to create something that could work across all levels. We want to be good for everyone involved in the Reachdesk ecosystem – the businesses we work with, our supply chain, how we interact with our neighbours, and how we work with each other. 

So here’s a little bit of inspiration on how you can enjoy the benefits of direct mail and gifting, while also helping the planet.

Better for the planet: plant a tree 🌲 

The American author James W. Frick once said, “Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what they are.” 

But in the 21st century, you don’t have to choose whether or not you focus on saving the world or running successful campaigns: you can look after your bottom line and still do some good.

 

Our latest partnership with Rewards Earth is one of those partnerships, helping you to benefit from eGifting while spreading some much-needed positivity. 

Buying a Rewards Earth gift card invests in reforestation and provides a real tangible benefit to the planet, but still allows people who may not be able to accept corporate gifts a magic moment experience. With Rewards Earth, you can verify your trees have been planted and learn how and where you’re providing benefit – whether that’s as part of the Eden Reforestation Project or even for the Orangutan Habitat Restoration. 

We work with Rewards Earth to help people around the world to join this great initiative which is why Rewards Earth gift cards are available in 3 currencies through Reachdesk. With Reachdesk, you can gift Rewards Earth cards in USD, AUD, and GBP.

Better for people: global giving

It’s now easier than ever to give to the world through the Reachdesk platform. Give the gift of giving to your prospects, customers and employees by sending them a Global Giving charity gift card. You can now send a Global Giving charity gift card through the Reachdesk platform that can be redeemed anywhere in the world. All the recipient needs to do is use the redemption code on the Global Giving website to donate to a project of their choosing. Global Giving supports projects in 175+ countries, supporting communities with what they need the most from disaster response to children’s education and wildlife preservation. See the full list of projects Global Giving supports here.

 

Better for people: charity on top

Charity on Top is a US based charity gift card company with over 1.8 million US charities to donate to through the Reachdesk platform - what better way to give a gift than giving the gift of a donation! Remember a gift is about the thought and sentiment and making a lasting impression with your recipient.

Better for people: food banks

It’s our pretty uncontroversial opinion that nobody should have to go hungry. This is why we decided to work with food banks in the UK, US, and Australia, to help make access to food and nutrition more accessible. 

The pandemic has been a health, economic, and humanitarian crisis unlike any other, and it’s caused massive stress and strain on food security and systems.

In 2020, almost 17 million people globally had to rely on food banks and almost 7 million of those people were children. 

Our current food bank partners are:

For more information about our food bank partners, we’ve got an overview of each of them right here.

Wondering what you can send? Here are 50 Direct Mail and Gifting Ideas for Q3! Check them out now!

Better for your footprint: supporting local businesses 

Why shop local? This is one of our favourite endeavours – it helps people now, it helps people in the future, and it helps the planet.

One of the best ways to limit your carbon footprint and improve your gift offerings is by shopping local. 

This is why we offer a full range of small, local businesses that you can support through our marketplace. (And while we’re also a little biased, we think they’re pretty brilliant companies too.)

By shopping locally through us, you are supporting small and independent businesses, all of whom have had a really challenging 18 months. 

Not only that, but something going from one side of a city to another is much easier to track and trace than crossing borders. It limits the likelihood of things getting lost, as well as cutting down on the number of carriers and the amount of travel items have to do. So local goods also have a much smaller carbon footprint. 

That’s what we call winning all round.

 

Better for your people: internal initiatives

The fine folk who assess the effectiveness of culture building and corporate social responsibility noticed a direct correlation between charitable companies and increased employee engagement.

This was something we put to the test when we got involved with Run for the Planet where we raised money as a team for World Land Trust. Reachdesk donated £1 for every mile we ran or walked and £1 for every 5 miles we cycled, and we ended up raising almost £600.

Things we learned: you can enjoy healthy competition in your team (who knew?), you can raise money for a great cause, and Pedro and Kia are absolute bosses.

Key takeaways

Fundamentally, we’re all about creating moments that matter – whether that’s internally or for the world at large. It’s also never been easier to put a little bit of soul and feeling into your corporate gift giving. 

Of course, we’re not looking to stop there. We’re already exploring what sustainability means to us and how we can be greener and more sustainable while still delivering the world-class experience our customers deserve.

So when you’re looking to build your next outreach campaign and want to put your money where your mouth is, take advantage of how easy it is to put people and the planet first without compromising on your impact.‍