Use Green Marketing To Boost Your Business’s Brand Image
As global warming slowly threatens the livelihood of the world;
‘Climate change encompasses not only rising average temperatures but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, rising seas , and a range of other impacts.’ – National Geographic
Indulging in consumerism with a clear conscience is something we all like to do. Shopping for items from companies who practice ethical social and environmental responsibility gives the purchaser a sense they’ve made a decent decision. On the other hand, businesses that use unethical trading, risk the extinction of animals, and contribute extensively to global warming are viewed unfavorably more today than ever before. For companies eager to demonstrate to customers their moral stance in supporting the planet, green marketing has vast benefits for business.
What is Green Marketing?
Green marketing involves weaving a company’s eco-friendly efforts into its social media marketing campaigns and advertising strategy. In a bid to demonstrate a business’s core values, enhance its image, and attract and retain customers who are conscious about their impact on the world.
“Sustainability is not a goal to be reached, but a way of thinking, a way of being, a principle we must be guided by” — Giulio Bonazzi – Chairman, Aquafil Group.
The degree of a business’s persistence to change its existing practices in an attempt for a greener future and a healthier planet is, apart from laws and regulations that govern expectations, up to the individual business. For instance, below is a breakdown of a range of levels enterprises are willing to work towards to demonstrate their consideration of the environment. Take a look below to see what section applies to your company and whether you can improve this.
- Adhere solely to applicable laws, regulations, and policies that protect and preserve the environment.
- Ecological measures are created based on the activities of competitors. Businesses will only attempt to edge past their competitor’s eco-friendly commitments.
- The business focuses on development and production inside the company to determine areas they can transition to green.
- An environmentally friendly strategy is devised based on proven methods used to improve sustainability in business , coupled with innovating new solutions designed by the company.
The Green Marketing Mix
Once you’ve distinguished which eco-friendly position your business is in and what you want to strive towards, you may want to review the green marketing mix below. In this section, you can view how eco-friendliness is applied in business and decipher what environmentally-friendly goals you would like to implement.
- Product: The product should consist of organic and environmentally friendly elements. For example, toiletry products that only contain biodegradable ingredients. Equally, your product could preserve nature or remedy existing environmental damage.
- Price: If the cost of producing your product rises as a result of your company embracing eco-friendly methods, you may want to alter the price tag of your goods to reflect this. Many consumers are often prepared to pay more for higher-paying products that are eco-friendly.
- Distribution: Another significant factor that compromises the eco-friendliness of any service or product is the distribution chain. Transportation must be analyzed to determine its impact on the environment and solutions for this. For example, you may set a goal for all transport vehicles in your company to change to electric cars. Or you could source suppliers closer to your business to save on excessive energy consumption.
- Promotion: When determining your company’s eco-friendliness, you need to think about how you reach your customers and communicate your message. As an example, you could consider reducing paper waste by halting flyer and poster advertisements. In place, you could opt for Facebook Ads Management , which uses precision target marketing to reach your intended audience in a way that doesn’t threaten the environment. Moreover, thinking about how you contact your existing customers is essential too. You could reduce letters in the post, and ask for customers to opt into receiving correspondence via email instead.
By assessing all areas of your business’s activities, you can determine what areas are feasible for you to incorporate sustainable changes. With eco-friendly goals in place, you can begin to shape your image to reflect your business’s green choices and inturn improve your company’s appeal and relationship with new and existing customers.
Companies Using Green Marketing
For examples of existing companies that are successful at green marketing, below Patagonia, Ikea and Unilever use different movements to demonstrate their aims in protecting the world.
Patagonia
‘From supporting youth fighting against oil drilling to suing the president, we take action on the most pressing environmental issues facing our world’ – Extract from Patagonia’s activism page .
Founded by two rock climbers, Patagonia is an outdoor clothing company that is conscious about taking care of the environment. Interestingly most of their products are made out of plastic. Still, Patagonia has made it known that they are working hard to challenge microplastic pollution when clothes enter a wash cycle. Not only this, but Patagonia also donates 1% of their yearly earnings to environmental groups, is a part of the Go Green movement, and embeds their green marketing strategy into their company mission.
Ikea
Another business pioneering with a green image is Ikea, who sources half of its wood from sustainable growers, and all of its cotton from Better Cotton standard-meeting suppliers. Moreover, ninety percent of Ikea stores have installed hundreds of thousands of solar panels. Ikea has also announced plans to be powered by renewables in the near future. Plus, Ikea uses eco-friendly practices to manufacture products, and their strategy, referred to as People & Planet Positive, encourages consumers to think about the environment before purchasing, to only buy what they need.
Unilever
Sustainability is part and parcel with Unilever’s corporate identity. Unilever has its own Sustainable Living Plan that outlines goals for sourcing and production of water and energy. The plan also incorporates social responsibility for how they treat the suppliers and the communities surrounding them. In 2010 CEO Paul Polman announced he wanted to double Unilever’s business while decreasing his company’s environmental impact by half within one decade, and the company has made incredible progress. For instance, three-quarters of Unilever’s nonhazardous water doesn’t enter the landfill sites. And, they have tripled their share of using agricultural supplies that use environmentally friendly practices too. In 2015, the United Nations awarded the CEO with the Champion of the Earth Award for the strides he made in reaching his eco-friendly goals.
The above features a few companies with their green efforts and achievements to create a more sustainable business. Hopefully, it has provided you some inspiration and ideas to begin your own green marketing plan of action.
“Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are plans to protect man.” – Stewart Udall
Eco-Friendliness Benefits Business
Also, it’s important to note, the positive aspects of operating an eco-friendly business stretch beyond winning new customers. An environmentally friendly business is proven to provide financial and efficiency advantages too. For instance;
- Businesses can save money by using water-saving devices, energy-efficient equipment, reduced waste, and energy conservation.
- There is growing consumer demand for greener products , and an opportunity for businesses to gain business with an eco-friendly angle.
- Customers are happy to pay more for environmentally friendly goods.
As an example of consumers’ desire and commitment to purchase greener items, The Nielsen global online survey identified 66 percent of its worldwide study respondents who were dedicated to buying eco-friendly services and products. Here are some of the factors which swayed a consumers purchasing decision:
- Products created with natural, organic, and fresh ingredients
- An environmentally friendly business brand image
- A company recognized for its social responsibility
- Greener packaging
- Marketing that demonstrated a brands correlation with environmental and social benefits
From the information gathered, it’s clear a business’s aim to protect the environment and its subsequent green marketing strategy from presenting this effort shall increase its success with consumers.
Create A Better Business
A business owner’s mission to begin creating a more sustainable business also means they are trying to provide a safer, healthier planet for everyone and themselves to reside. Whether across social media or featured in the news, marketing your company’s steps towards sustainability sends a compelling message to your employees, your competitors, and customers about your brand. It tells consumers your company cares about the world we live in and will use its voice and sway within the business sphere from the materials you use for products to supporting employees to work remotely to promote greener ways in the workplace. Which, in turn, shall attract those who are equally concerned about the impact we are all having on the planet.
With more people becoming aware of global warming’s impact on the plant, a gradual shift in consumers’ buying behavior puts pressure on companies to do right by the world and make eco-friendly decisions in a bid to play their part in saving the planet.
And so, before you consider what greener practices can do for your business, it’s essential to think about what you can do for the planet – only then will you make a real difference to the world and a real impact on how consumers perceive your company.
“Being a good human being is good business.” — Paul Hawken, environmentalist, entrepreneur, and writer
