The federal government is infusing billions of dollars into the green economy. Your business is committed to being green. You’ve taken appropriate steps toward green practices. And, now you want to take advantage of the emerging green economy by marketing and placing your products or services with customers and clients that have expressed their commitment to follow environmental sustainability.
This article provides a green marketing template for you to consider when implementing your green marketing plan.
Be believable and realistic: To quote Kermit, the frog, “Its not easy being green”. Before selling your goods or services it is quintessential to have your frogs in a row when claiming your business is green. The claims you make must be believable and realistic. Your Environmental Management System (EMS) must be documented (please see my previous article “Being Green and Environmental Sustainability” regarding the definition of an EMS). Without documentation, your “being green” claims are words with little meaning and may lead to legal exposure.
Your marketing strategy and message needs to be convincing and backed up with facts. Facts will eliminate vague green claims. Knowing what goes into being green will provide you with credibility which in-turn will provide your business with a competitive advantage. Your credibility isn’t found in your claim, but in the facts that you provide from your EMS.
So be accurate. Its better to exceed expectations than to disappoint your customers or clients.
Create significance and applicability: What is the green value your company provides for your customers or clients in your marketing initiative? The significance and applicability of your green claims should be highlighted. Customers and clients will want to translate how your green initiative will increase revenues for them, how it will make them more competitive in their marketplace and how it may reduce their costs.
Your marketing collateral needs to include feature:benefit analyses. For example a feature could be, “We have reduced paper documents and transmit via the Internet.” A benefit could be, “Our paper reduction translates into reduced costs to you based on the reduction of costs we pass through and its good for the environment.”
It is important for your company to align its environmental sustainability commitment to your customer’s or client’s sustainability program. Find common ground so that each of you can realize mutual green benefit.
Communicate your green message: Your marketing message must be compelling. Marketing content should capture the imagination of your audience. It should provide a set-up to a problem, myth or concern and then provide a well crafted solution that is couched in a compelling story. The story should match your product or service offering to your customers needs in a value proposition.
The specific industry you are servicing will provide the subject matter. Now turn the subject into how it may be leveraged into the community as political and emotional capital for your customer or client.
Distinguish yourself from your competition: As many businesses have jumped on the green marketing bandwagon, how are you setting your green marketing strategies apart from your competition? What is exclusive or exceptional about your green products or services?
Kirk Davis, a Biznik member, calls it your secret competitive advantage. It is that distinctive thing you do, so that your customers or clients can identify what you do, as green in a particular way.
In summary, green marketing can be a very successful way to directly or indirectly sell your products or services…perhaps as a competitive advantage. Be believable and realistic, create significance and applicability, communicate your green message, and distinguish yourself from your competition. And, continue to implement your green nobility! It will pay off.
