When marketing a green product or services you should seek to fulfill two things: improved environmental quality, and customer satisfaction. Overstating either at the expense of the latter can be a big green marketing mistake.
In sustainable or green marketing, Green Marketing Myopia exists when a new brand or an existing brand promotes the product’s “greenness” and fall short on the promotion of consumer benefits and solutions, i.e., desired feelings.
Despite some Geo-Green Companies growing opportunity in sustainable products and it’s reduction of cost and uses of our natural resources and good ole fashion ‘save the planet.’ There are still some challenges getting your consumers on board with your greener sustainable product line.
They Just Ain’t Buying It
Customers may not choose a greener product or service because of some perceived sacrifices
- Inconvenience
- Higher costs or,
- Lower performance without proof of significant environmental impacts.
There is a lack of consumer enthusiasm when companies focus on product features and functions, instead of the value – the green marketing myopia.
How your business balances customer value while maintaining ecological values and social values will determine your success. To achieve balance companies have two options, and it starts with a deeper understanding of the customer more than the product.
- Your first choice is to stress the inherent consumer benefits, be its cost effectiveness, health and safety issues or improved status symbols.
- The second option is to form alliances. For example combining organic quality with convenience or design and durability.
People are buying green not because the product is “green” but because of its perceived fulfillment of their desires to either feel healthy, safe or to save money. They want the lifestyle of a Health and Sustainability. But they want product and services that provide the cost-saving, healthy or safe solution. This fulfillment will appeal to buyer’s emotions ultimately resulting in conversion.
Take a look at these three important principles and how you can change your green marketing message and engage more with your target audience.
Consumer Value Positioning
Green consumers and consumers in general desire in some form these five benefits (values) when choosing products: Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness; Health and Safety; Better Performance; Symbolism and Status; and Convenience. A green or sustainable product must be designed to perform just as well (or better than) the alternative products. You have to invest time into the promotion of and deliver the consumer-desired value of your green product and target relevant consumer market segments. You can broaden mainstream appeal by adding (or bundling) consumer-desired value with environmental attributes such as fixed pricing for subscribers of renewable energy.
Enhance Customer Knowledge
Develop compelling educational marketing messages and slogans that connect green product attributes with desired consumer value. Once users begin to recognize the green product’s consumer benefits and the environmental product attributes are positioned as “solutions” for their needs; an opportunity to engage and educate more about the environmental products’ desired customer value emerges. Use social media as a tool for starting a calibration of knowledge between you and your audience. Users now share their experience and begin to seek others who use your product. They initiate the self-research and further their trust and knowledge. A good tip would be to encourage consumer evangelism via users’ social and Internet communication networks with compelling, interesting, and entertaining stories and testimonies about your product or service.
Credibility of Product Claims
Having proof of about your products intended results is the final key to your marketing message. Environmental goods and consumer benefit claims should be specific to users, meaningful, unpretentious, and qualified. This approach is the foundation of any green marketing agenda. Green products must exceed expectations and value. Securing product endorsements or eco-certifications from trustworthy third parties, and educating consumers about the meaning behind those endorsements and eco-certifications is also important. Take for example the Energy Star label. The EPA program helps business and consumers make smart choices about the appliances they purchase. The little blue label says this product, this home, this building or factory is doing the right things to save money and the planet. Consumers recognize this certification, and now they feel they are making the right decision. The label also serves as an authority, having it done the research for you making a choice to buy simple, convenient and efficient.
Final Note
Improving your marketing message, developing a benefits and solutions campaign can help reduce marketing myopia and facilitate the change needed to move consumers to more sustainable products and services. The demand is there, let’s give it to them.
