The green marketplace has a total valuation of $2.65 trillion. Many people are more than willing to pay more for products they believe are eco-friendly. With so many consumers becoming more environmentally conscious, it's important to show how your product can help the planet, not hinder it. Here are some marketing tips to help you do this.
1. Be Honest
Green consumers are savvy, so if you're making up a green initiative that doesn't exist or exaggerating the extent of your eco-friendly efforts, customers are likely to find out and drop you like a hot potato. It's a great idea to toot your own horn about your company's eco-friendliness, but only if it's the truth.
2. Be Specific
When you have a green initiative to share, it will be most effective if you're specific in explaining it to your target audience. For example, IKEA has installed more than 700,000 solar panels on the land around its stores, bringing its use of fossil fuels lower than other companies. A marketing slogan like "we use solar energy" is probably not specific enough to convince consumers, but 700,000 solar panels tell consumers exactly what IKEA is doing for the environment.
3. Show, Don't Tell
Whether your product's packaging is recycled, you make specific products that use eco-friendly methods, or some other initiative reflecting your values is in play, you need to be able to show in concrete ways that you are committed to green values that benefit the environment. It's not enough to tell consumers about what you're doing. You need to show it in your products and services or in the initiatives you support with your charity dollars.
4. Use Known Green Logos
When people see recognizable green logos around your business or on your products (like the recycling logo or one of several eco-friendly logos that usually incorporate circles and leaves), they instantly know your company values sustainability and planetary health, and they'll look for more specific information. The most enthusiastic green consumers will not be able to rule you out for any lack of environmental consciousness when you use green logos in your advertising.
5. Avoid Paper
There's a push among green companies to cut back on print ads, direct mail campaigns, and newspaper advertising to save paper. Anything your company can do to create less paper will keep that paper out of landfills (although some could be recycled).
If your company manages to cut down on its paper use, you can advertise this through all your digital channels as yet another green initiative.
Eco-friendly marketing could be essential to your CPG marketing strategy and CPG brand voice. Hangar-12 can keep you on top of all the latest CPG marketing trends and best practices when you subscribe to our blog.
Topics cpg, marketing, CPG Trends