We’ve all seen the numbers. Most consumers—around 80-82% of them—want to do business with companies that align with their personal values, meaning they prefer brands that care about the same issues they do. That’s why you see more and more businesses promoting sustainability, hunger relief, inclusiveness, and more. 

When a brand’s values align with the consumers’ own, those consumers are more likely to choose the brand over others or stay loyal to the brand if they are already a customer. While we tend to associate these efforts with retail brands such as Bombas, Patagonia, and Ben & Jerry’s, why couldn’t these efforts spread into the printing industry? Printers want loyal customers and to differentiate, too.

Hotel Revival in Baltimore, MD

One place we can look for inspiration is Hotel Revival in Baltimore, MD. Like a growing number of hotels, Hotel Revival, where the rooms look more like those of a B&B than a hotel, has created a new position—director of impact. Currently, that director is Jasmine Garland. 

You Get Paid for Doing What?

What is a Director of Impact? As Garland explains, this role develops and leads programs focused on community growth, investment, and well-being, ensuring that sustainable practices are woven into all hotel decision-making.

“By amplifying local voices, advocating for underserved and underrepresented groups, and prioritizing procurement from mission-driven, sustainable vendors, we cultivate partnerships that drive lasting, positive change within the community,” she says.

While the marketing benefit of a program like this is hard to quantify, Garland explains that, at Hotel Revival, the leadership follows an ROI-squared approach: “What benefits the community also benefits the hotel,” she says. “This creates a positive cycle where our community impact enhances brand awareness and loyalty, boosts revenue across our restaurant, café, speakeasy, and rooms, while simultaneously addressing the needs of the community.” 

Jasmine Garland, Hotel Revival’s Director of Impact

Engaging for Impact

One of the ways that Hotel Revival “engages for impact” is through facilitating discussions. The hotel hosts The Remedy, a monthly in-person wellness discussion series focused on personal growth, mental health, and community healing. “Each session explores a unique topic,” Garland explains. “This encourages open dialogue and reflection, while fostering a supportive environment for participants to share experiences and insights.” 

The event is free and is hosted in one of hotel's beautiful meeting spaces, The Garden Room. Offering complimentary light fare and a cash bar, the event contributes to the hotel's revenue goals while creating an inclusive, welcoming space.

Other community events include a clothing drop-off for job seekers; the Corner Store, a retail shop where the goal is to source most, if not all, of the merchandise from local and sustainable businesses across the city; and community yoga. “In many ways, we’ve become a community hub as much as a boutique hotel,” Garland explains. “Our goal is to be known for our mission, as well as our landmark beauty in the city.” 

Source: Hotel Revival

How Do You Measure Impact?

Even with leadership buy-in, it can still be challenging to measure the financial impact of the program on the bottom line. “It can be challenging,” Garland acknowledges, “but we use metrics like program attendance, financial investment, media coverage, and sustainability data to track our efforts. Initiatives like our Community Love room rate, which donates a portion of each booking to a designated nonprofit each quarter, provide a clear, measurable way to make a meaningful difference.”

What does this have to do with printing? If a hotel can do it, why can’t a print shop? Bookshops do it. Coffee shops do it. So why not you? While e-commerce broadened the potential pool of customers, for most print shops business remains primarily local. A1 Print Shop is in the same business park as the local Cross-Fit. The UPS Store is a drop-off location for Amazon returns. Printing remains an integral part of the local community, and good vibes and good press have every bit as much an opportunity to benefit and differentiate a printer’s business as it does a hotel’s. 

Don’t expect your community impact to look like Hotel Revival’s, however. Each community will have its own needs and driving issues, so your outreach most likely would look very different from theirs — different community demographics, different activities, and different discussions. That’s the whole point. Community impact is about engaging your community based on what your community needs. 

So if you’re looking for an innovative way to differentiate your business from the “next guy” who just bought the same digital press, maybe an “impact” mission might be your next step.