This should really be titled “21st Century Marketing 101”, since this seems an obvious point, include your web site URL on all of your marketing communications vehicles including package, flyers, outdoor (billboards) and, of course, print ads.
Yet, a survey found that 70% of Print Campaigns Ignore the Multi-Channel Reality, and do not include a URL. This seems counter-intuitive in this age of digital reach. It ignores the reality that between 50 and 70% of consumers, depending on the category, research products online. This is true even of ordinary grocery items which half of consumers than go on to purchase OFFLINE.
So even if your product is one which consumers rarely purchase online, the need for access to your web site remains.
While this is surely important for traditional businesses, it’s even more true for green businesses. Why? Because as the green market has reached a Tipping point and consumers are bombarded by green claims - they’re looking for validation of your eco friendly claims.
There’s only so much you can out in a print ad or on your package. With more and more products claiming certification, the value of that certification is in question. Not everyone, particularly newer green consumers, is familiar with how rigorous the requirements are for, say, the Forest Stewardship Council certification. A link to their site, and a discussion of why it’s better than say, an internal company certification is a powerful way to differentiate your product.
Kudos to my colleagues who go the extra mile to design seminars I’d wake up at the ungodly hour of 5:37 AM to sit and listen to in half-wake awe, Americano in hand.
Seminars that go by blockbuster titles - as least for green entrepreneurs - such as “How to manage carbon risk” have authentic learning value.
In our over-wired world, live events are a luxury, an hour or three to feel how much we really love context and contact, not just stoic information glaring out at us from a screen when we’re learning complex stuff - like international carbon trading markets.
More to the point, events are becoming an even more attractive “pull” medium than ever. And, the savvy, green entrepreneur should know how to harness the reputation and client lead potentials of a well-orchestrated event - an eco-friendly supplied event, that is.
As retailer to over 90% of US households, Wal-Mart is in the unique position of being an excellent compiler of information.
Recently they started tracking shoppers’ green buying habits. Actually all retailers track products their consumers purchase for inventory control. Wal-Mart however was one of the leaders in using this data to tightly control inventory and share information with manufacturers. They retain leadership in this area with RFID tracking systems and well managed JIT manufacturing cooperative programs with their vendors.
Now Wal-Mart is sharing some of this information with the world with the Wal-Mart Live-Better Index .
A recent article in Business Green discusses several ways of classifying the green consumer and the issues related to reaching them. Though demographics, the tried and true way of sorting out consumers into groups by income, age, education, etc. works well in some categories, it’s not as helpful in segmenting green consumers.
Enter Psychographics, often used by niche marketers, it can be an effective tool for eco entrepreneurs.
Demographics looks at characteristics of people that include age, income, education, occupation, household size, home ownership and home value, among other factors.
Psychographics delves deeper into people’s lifestyles and behaviors, including their interests and values.
While segments of green consumers vary according to the source you use (check out this hilarious post that outlines some of them) I’ll use the Natural Marketing Institute’s labels for LOHAS ( lifestyles of health and sustainability) consumers.
LOHAS — very progressive on environment and society, looking for ways to do more; not too concerned about price (16%).
Naturalites — primarily concerned about personal health and wellness, and use many natural products; would like to do more to protect the environment (25%).
Conventionals — practical, like to see the results of what they do; interested in green products that make sense (e.g., save money) in the long run (23%).
Drifters — not too concerned about environment, figuring we’ve got time to fix environmental problems; don’t necessarily buy a lot of green products, though may like to “be seen” in Whole Foods to enhance their image (23%).
Unconcerned — have other priorities, not really sure what green products are available, and probably wouldn’t be interested anyway; they buy products strictly on price, value, quality, and convenience (14%).
There have been several articles on Public Relations blogs recently about the difficulty of promoting green businesses. In our current climate, thousands of organizations, big and small are trying to go, or appear to go green. Hundred’s of websites are devoted to the eco movement; the mainstream media loves a green product story…and they have many from which to choose.
