In a recent Bloomberg TV interview, Mark Cuban said that “if you want to sell to millennials, you better have a social component”, emphasizing the difference between Gen X and Gen Y and the new role of social entrepreneurship in the market.

This was a quick comment from Mark but it made me think: as a millennial, is it true that I demand a social component from the companies I buy from? And the answer is a definitive “no”. I demand, first and foremost, a great product that satisfies my needs and is fairly priced. The social mission of that company adds to the experience and could even make me shift from one vendor to another one, but it would never make drive my shopping decisions by itself. I think it’s great when companies try to address a social disparity or contribute to the economic development of disadvantaged communities, but I fear that having a social mission is becoming another empty marketing tactic and the true social impacts are hard to measure.

Cuban mentions TOMS shoes, a great example of what a company with a social purpose shouldn’t be. And I do come across many of these social enterprises that just seem to be following this motto of “we need to have a social mission”, but have terrible products that I would never buy.

What do you think? Does the social impact of a company change your buying decisions?

Check out the interview: