Green Options » Online Marketing

10 Tips For Keeping Your Green Business Afloat in 2009

mcmilker — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:32:29 +0000

Hillary Bromberg offers, at Sustainable Life Media, an article titled: Ten Insights for Sustainable Brands in an Uncertain Economy. Since her advice is pretty good, I was tempted to just pass it along.

But, then I thought I might add a few insights of my own.

A few of her recommendations struck me as really right on target, and seem worth expanding on as they speak to a need that every entrepreneurial company needs to consider sooner or later to continue to grow.

That is, what to do once the explosive growth generated by your hot idea starts to wane. This can be because others jump into the field and it starts to get crowded or because of a slowdown in the economy or because consumers experience fatigue as the hot idea seems to be just about everywhere. Of course, now we are experiencing all three!

As I’ve written about before, now is the time to get back to basic marketing principles. I speak from experience, incidentally.

Fifteen years ago I was working at a very hot start-up that grew into a fast growing mid sized company then imploded due to, primarily, entrepreneurial arrogance in the face of increased competition and a sour economy. Rather than step back and consider a new way of doing business, they continued with the same old marketing programs that worked for them to date – bad idea!

As companies grow and markets mature, new strategies are required. Any marketing student who ever learned about product lifecyles knows that. What’s tough is convincing upper level management, particularly entrepreneurs who consider a product their baby…who will always stay a baby, of that fact.

So, here are just a few tips from me, on keeping your sustainable business growing over the next few years.

1. Step back and re-evaluate your target market. With budgets tighter, your current consumer just might not be able to afford your product anymore.

2. Take a hard look at your competition. Who is selling similar products might now? Keep on top of their marketing efforts.

3. What products might consumers be buying now instead of your product? How can you lure them back?

4. Re-evaluate your positioning. Just being green may not be enough right now – consider quality and/or cost savings a possible positioning.

5. Be creative in your marketing programs- during a recession, well thought out promotions can keep consumers happy and loyal.

6. Find ways to connect with your consumers online. I am a big proponent of social media. I use my Twitter account to not only connect with clients but to provide them with valuable advice.

Creative Green Holiday Marketing Ideas

Megan Prusynski — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:00:50 +0000

I feel bad for the trees during the holiday season. Not only are they cut down for our living rooms, but the amount of paper waste generated by holiday hooplah is just astounding.

Between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, Americans throw away an additional 25% of waste. That’s over 25 million tons of trash for the holiday season. Greeting cards, envelopes, gift wrap, cardboard boxes and all the trimmings that make our holidays festive really add up in the landfill.

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to be festive and green at the same time. Ecopreneurs preparing their holiday marketing promotions can learn a thing or two from creative business owners like Von Glitschka, an independent graphic designer and illustrator in Salem, Oregon. Instead of sending a printed holiday mailing, Von created a fun promotion and made it available as a PDF file online. That way his recipients could choose to print and assemble the “4th Not So Wiseman” at home, or just enjoy it online without printing a thing. Not only do online promotions like this save a bundle on printing and postage costs, but they eliminate envelopes and paper cards, and thus, waste.

Von’s Not So Wiseman also comes along with a green message and a cute story by Kristen Fischer. The Not So Wiseman is not so popular because he brought coal as a gift for baby Jesus, but “Jesus just wasn’t down” with coal’s production of greenhouse gases. Now the 4th Wiseman serves as a reminder to be green and kind to the earth, because if you don’t, you deserve nothing more than coal for Christmas! You can download and create your very own 4th Not So Wiseman at Von’s blog, Art Backwash. Don’t forget to print him out on recycled paper!

Social Networking and Online Marketing for the Ecopreneur

Megan Prusynski — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:44:32 +0000

I admit it, I am addicted to the internet. However, this addiction isn’t all bad - my hard earned internet savvy has paid off time and time again in the form of referrals and new clients. Without even having to overtly advertise, I have gotten many inquiries about my services and quite a few good clients from my online activities. I’ve also made a lot of friends in my field and networked with other designers that I can bounce ideas off of and partner with on creative pursuits, all online. Yes, the internet is a glorious thing.

One of my favorite things about using the internet to promote my business is that it’s green and inexpensive (if not free). So online marketing and social networking is a great way to get your name out there without using any paper or creating any trash. A good way to start your foray into the world of online marketing is to first establish a web site for your business. This will often be your potential customers’ first impression of your company, so it will be an important investment in both time and money. Once you have a web site, networking through social media sites is a great way to promote it and drive traffic to your site. Online marketing is a strategy that’s becoming more and more popular among entrepreneurs, and thankfully it is one with minimal impact on the planet.