How To Market in An Eco-Friendly Way

More and more businesses are choosing not only to become more eco-friendly but also to market in an eco-friendly way. This ‘green marketing’ technique is popular because it showcases exactly what the business stands for, and it ensures that this important matter is the first thing that most potential customers see. With that in mind, if you feel that your business would benefit from green marketing, read on; here are some great ways to get started. 

Make Sure It’s Right for You 

Of course, every business wants to look good for their customers, and every business wants to give themselves an edge over their competition, and in some ways, green marketing can be the way to do this. However, there is no point in doing this and going down this route if you find that the way you are marketing is not the way you do business. If you try to mix the two together, you’ll find that, rather than enticing people to buy from you, you push them away because they’ll be confused. 

Green marketing will be hugely beneficial if it aligns with your business’s values, but if not, it could be a big mistake. When thinking about whether green marketing is a good idea, you can use your knowledge of applied statistics to take your target market into account. Are these people who are interested in eco-friendly businesses or not? If they are, does your business actually promote greener working? 

Promote Transparency Internally 

If you decide that green marketing is the right thing for your business and your products and services, you must start with your workers and teams. Everything you do should start internally before you can start sending out the message you want the world to see. The reason for this is that unless your team is on board, or even aware of, your ideas about marketing your green credentials, they won’t necessarily know that this is something you want to promote, and they might not mention it or use it or even study it for themselves. In other words, if you don’t tell your employees all about your green marketing plans, they might undo the good you’re doing simply by not telling people about it themselves. 

One way to ensure that everyone is aware of what you’re doing is to include them when it comes to working out details of who your suppliers are or what goods to order. If you notice that any of your staff seem to be working in opposition to your ideals, speak to them about it. It might be an honest mistake, and you can work together to fix the issue before it harms your business. 

Use Digital Marketing 

Many businesses have already made the switch to entirely digital marketing, but if you’re still sending out leaflets and direct mail, it’s time to stop. Your potential customers aren’t going to be impressed if you send them a leaflet – using paper, ink, and not to mention fuel to do it – to let them know about your green ways of working. It’s counterproductive and can give you a bad reputation, even though you were trying to do the right thing. 

The best thing to do is to adopt an entirely digital approach. For example, create a newsletter that people can sign up to use email marketing, or have a social media presence (or all of these things). In this way, when you let everyone know that you plan to be much greener in the future or that you will already work in an eco-friendly, sustainable way, you will be showing that you understand and use zero-waste methods that match up to what you’re saying. 

If you really do have to use paper in your marketing campaigns for any reason, make sure it is one hundred percent recycled. On top of this, you can even opt for plant-based inks, ensuring that you can prove you have thought things through. 

Support Campaigns 

When you are thinking of green marketing, it’s important to remember that this isn’t just about your business; it can mean showing your support for other important causes (particularly environmental ones) and aligning your ethics with them. Although you might not be changing much within your company structure, the fact that you have acknowledged, followed, supported, and even donate to these important causes can make a big difference in terms of your customer base. 

We’re not suggesting you pick any good cause and tell your customers you’re a supporter; this would be disingenuous, especially if you did nothing to change how your company works and what you do within it. If there is no because you want to support, then don’t use this tactic at all. However, if you feel strongly about something, you can use that information to let your prospects know your company’s values; it’s important to do so. You don’t have to give details about how much you donate (this could be considered crude in some cases), but the fact you are helping is crucial in green marketing. 

Make Your Events Eco-Friendly 

Not all businesses will need or want to put on special events, but if you are in the kind of industry that does have to do this, or you think it might be a good way to add to your marketing campaign, then ensure that your events are eco-friendly. This means not using any single-use plastic and keeping waste to a minimum, for example, although there are dozens of different ways to make your events green. 

You might not think that these seemingly small things, such as eliminating plastic straws, are essential, but rest assured they will be noticed. These environmental issues are everywhere, and everyone – especially younger generations – is well aware of what you should and should not be doing. So, make sure you’re not making any mistakes with your event regarding your green credentials, because those mistakes will be noticed, and your business may lose customers due to this issue.