In this day and age, it is becoming more important for businesses to focus on green marketing. This means adopting strategies that help fight climate change and take action to become a more conscious brand. How do you implement green marketing strategies and how can you create more credibility by going green? Let’s discuss how you can evolve into a greener and more conscious brand; a business that is appreciated by many.
What does green marketing entail?
With green marketing, you promote products and services that are environmentally friendly. It focuses on the manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and promotion of these services and goods in a way that creates the least possible damage to our Earth. What does this mean? This means that a company changes their advertising, the packaging of their products, or creates a new set of goals for the future of their brand. But there’s more.
Let’s discuss a few green marketing principles, to get a better understanding of what it actually entails:
- A business that focuses on green marketing should also focus on social responsibility. This means that the brand goes into business with organizations that offer a fair wage for their workers, are fairtrade, and include the same rights and conditions for people from different backgrounds.
- When you are incorporating green marketing strategies you can portray this in your brand’s message. This shows what you stand for as a business and helps you showcase what you already do for our planet and what plans you have in the future as a sustainable business.
- Make use of materials that are easily recyclable or renewable, including materials for packaging. We have written an article about eco-friendly packaging before which you can read here.
- For a green business, it is best to be aware of toxic materials and harmful substances and stay away from using them when creating products and packaging. It is important to have knowledge about these substances as well as stand for and be transparent about your journey to becoming more green as a business.
- When producing packaging or products, think about the kind of energy that is used to create them. For example; it is better to use green energy such as solar energy or wind energy.
- Be aware of how ‘fast shipping’ can have a very negative impact on our world and societies. If possible, think about other ways to ship or transport your goods.
- Sometimes your products can be made out or consist of other products. Make sure that these products are also made sustainably and environmentally safe.
- Read more about the circular economy or shared economy in which businesses that want to go green can find many answers and new approaches that are in line with a greener future.
Let’s look at a few examples. The Body Shop has focused on cruelty-free and natural ingredients in their skincare and cosmetic brand. This is a decision they have made early on and they are still using these values today. Another example is how a Dutch supermarket called Albert Heijn saw their customers’ need to have packaging-free staple foods such as pasta or legumes. They acted on this and created a wall full of these foods that people can place in their own pots and cans. Albert Heijn is now on their way to becoming the most sustainable supermarket in the Netherlands.
Another example of green marketing is the brand Patagonia; they promote sustainable packaging and materials whilst also being transparent and open about the steps they still have to take. Patagonia is therefore an example of a brand that is open and transparent about its green marketing. This transparency creates understanding customers who are less likely to second-guess their beloved brand.
Going green improves your credibility
Why does going green improve your credibility? In the previous years, we have seen that a lot of people, mostly Millennials and Gen Z, put more emphasis on and appreciate a conscious business over a business that doesn’t focus on being green. This is because most Millennials and Gen Z see that our world can only stay healthy if we all put some effort into keeping it healthy, including businesses.
Creating products and services that are more in line with environmental health will most likely create customers that appreciate what you do. This appreciation leads to more credibility. This is because they are more inclined to purchase your goods or services after knowing exactly what you do for our planet. On top of that, not only will your customers be more satisfied, also your stakeholders and other investors will be more inclined to go into business with organizations that are focusing on bettering the environment.
Green marketing: promoting products with environmental benefits
Most businesses know that it’s time to focus on environmental health and going green, but some of them don’t know what next steps to take. There are many environmental models that you can follow but in this article, we will dive into the 4 Ps of green marketing. This model will enable you to start with the basic steps that your business needs to take to become greener. Let’s look into it.
1. Green Product
When creating, designing, or manufacturing a green product or packaging; keep in mind to use as few natural resources, toxins, or other harmful substances as possible. Maybe there is even a way to increase the conservation of our natural resources by diving into the sharing economy or circular economy. This is all about being creative and thinking outside the box on how to create a product that is made in a less harmful way than it used to be.
2. Green Price
When people purchase a green product they know that the price might be higher than the same product that is not made sustainably. Even though customers might consider paying more to be a good option, if this makes them purchase a product that isn’t harmful to our planet, the customer does want to have clear information about this. As previously mentioned, the brand Patagonia is transparent about which aspects of its business are green and which are not. This creates knowledge and acceptance of a higher price for a product. The customer has to understand why they are paying a higher price and what value is created for them.
3. Green Place
How do you manufacture and distribute your products? How fast can your products arrive at your customers’ doorstep? Is this done through fast shipping? Is there another way to get the products to your customers that is less environmentally damaging? Here it is also important to research multiple options and see which options work best.
4. Green Promotion
As mentioned before, it is very important for the customers to understand what has been done to create a sustainable product. Promoting your green business is a great tool to help your future customers to understand exactly this. You can promote your products through advertisements that focus on the link between the products and the environment or by showing the green or organic lifestyle that is attached to them. You can also portray a brand image that is based on environmental responsibility.
Do you want to know more about incorporating sustainability?
Let’s talk about your brand’s sustainability KPIs and how you can implement this into your sustainability strategy. Reach out and get in touch today and book a call with us. We’ll be happy to assist you in further growing your business.