Much has been said about sustainability in recent years, as the climate crisis becomes more prominent, and everyone strives to do more to combat their carbon footprint. For businesses, one area that’s often overlooked is marketing.
Sustainable marketing is all about longevity and switching out immediate impact for longer-term success, focusing not only on products but also your brand’s image and overall strategy.
Businesses have a responsibility to address social and environmental issues, and to pay attention to how they evolve over time. Marketing is a great way to align your company and its wider goals with such a topical issue, while also having a positive impact on the surrounding environment.
Here’s why eco friendly marketing is set to become more common feature in the coming years.
Green Marketing Enhances Public Image
Consumers are more discerning than ever, and they expect businesses to be conscious of their impact, as well as current social issues. With environmental issues so important on a global scale, it’s understandable that customers are looking for businesses that take a proactive approach and try to minimise their footprint as much as possible.
It’s a positive step that can only serve to enhance a business’ public image – after all, customers aren’t going to be put off by the additional benefit of a product being better for the environment, even if it’s not their primary focus. It’s an incentive that highlights the good your company is doing and encourages consumers to follow suit through their purchasing decisions.
In the future, we’ll see more businesses choosing to highlight their sustainable efforts in a bid to place their brand in a positive light where the environment is concerned.
Less Waste for Landfills
Whether you’re choosing eco friendly promotion products to market your business or you’re putting on a sustainable event, thinking of the long-term impact of the ways your market your business is critical in today’s market.
We’re more conscious than ever of the waste heading to landfills and how the likes of plastic are destroying oceans and wildlife habitats. Over the coming years, we’ll be seeing a noticeable reduction in plastic options and an uplift in the likes of paper, card and recyclable solutions being marketed as a USP.
In choosing to market your business in an eco friendly way that minimises harm and long-term damage, you’re setting your business apart from competitors and aligning your values with your customers’. As this is increasingly something that customers seek out, such as choosing products with minimal packaging or businesses that take a responsible approach to their waste, it can be a marketing effort with significant clout.
Boost Customer Retention
Businesses that fail to consider the environment in their strategies are at risk of losing customers. Whether it’s the packaging materials they choose, the marketing methods they implement or the transparency they offer when communicating about their sustainable efforts, to keep customers in 2021 and beyond, it’s all about making eco friendly choices.
Studies suggest that 47% of consumers will walk away from a business that fails to take a stand on sustainability issues, with 17% never returning. Taking an eco friendly approach can help to encourage customer acquisition, and most importantly, retention for steady business growth.
Greater Profits for Businesses
A surprising benefit for businesses choosing eco friendlier marketing options is the cost-saving measures it can provide, which is a boost to profits. But there’s also the fact that many people are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products to reduce their waste and their impact on the environment.
In investing in eco friendly marketing, the result can be greater profits in the long-term, as well as an uptick in sales that can come from your business’ reputation and public image. While the effects that eco friendly marketing can have on the environment are a worthwhile endeavour in themselves, the positive ROI that these efforts provide are also a welcome addition.
Final Thoughts
The clock is ticking on making better decisions and changing our ways to protect the planet, and businesses need to consider the ways that they’re assisting these changes. Marketing is an area of business strategy that needs to be considered when making sustainable swaps, as it’s such an integral element of any company’s operations.
