Media Bites-August 9 2010

Green green all around (should you care?)

According to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Green marketing is composed of a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. What has become increasingly difficult in the last few years is defining the term and marketing products correctly.

Environmental Leader writes that the green market outperformed the economy as a whole, growing more than 6% in 2008, followed by flat growth in 2009. The report also finds that the market took a hit from tighter consumer budgets due to the recession and trading down from high-end green brands. The market grew about 41% from 2004 to 2009,

What does this mean to a small business that is considering tapping into this growing market?

Marketing products by focusing on their “green” benefits can be a sound business strategy but often the most obvious benefits aren’t the ones that motivate potential customers.

Ask yourself the following questions before you dive in and start your company’s green campaign:

—What are the benefits to my target market and how can I emphasize them?
—How will these translate to short term and long term cost savings for customers?
—How can your business promote green benefits in an organic non-threatening format?
—What other benefits can your customer gain from using your products?

—How will your audience evaluate your product or service’s green attributes against your competition?

—Do they media properties under consideration have a policy in place to reduce their carbon footprint?

—How will we measure return on investment?

“By carefully highlighting your products’ green benefits and tailoring your messages to focus on the benefits most relevant to the target market, it is possible to overcome objections to the increased up-front costs of, and resistance to, adoption of new and greener technologies”, writes Bob Lipp, president of Marcomm Group.

Promoting products based on their green advantages is becoming much easier as consumers and companies show their support for environmentally safe products. According to a recent survey from market research firm Mintel; over 35% of US consumers noted that they would pay more for ‘green friendly’ products.

Although research is beginning to surface that notes Americans are willing to pay more for ‘green products’, it’s certainly not a guarantee when consumers are scrutinizing every expense. However, with careful planning and marketing investment, your business could have an added revenue stream that will deliver in any economic environment.

(source: Wikipedia.org, mediaplannerbuyer.com)