GREEN MARKETING
‘Sustainability’ is a much bandied term in business, but what exactly does it mean for marketing?
‘Green’ brands and the ‘greening’ of brands are part of an increased appreciation of sustainability by firms. This trend is also based on the belief that ‘green’ is something that buyers value and preference. Yet most ‘green’ brands remain small in terms of market share, with many companies experiencing lukewarm responses to their efforts and only limited uptake of their offerings.
The failure stems from the fact that most sustainable marketing is not based on a sound understanding of fundamental consumer behaviour. Fortunately, marketing science has discovered patterns in consumer behaviour that hold across multiple markets, time, and countries— and it is this knowledge that provides a framework for understanding how buyers choose between brands and how they respond to marketing efforts. It also reveals how inaccurate many beliefs driving sustainability efforts actually are, and explains why they have often had such an indifferent consumer response.
**Brands are typically bought
by the same sort of buyer, not a specialist sub set.**
Understand the breadth of your potential market. ‘Green’ brands are often launched under the assumption that they will appeal to a particular type of ‘green’ buyer. This is classic niche theory—that niche brands sell to a small group of highly loyal buyers. While profitable in theory, reality tells a different story: brands are typically bought by the same sort of buyer, not a specialist sub set. Take diet colas for example. Using niche theory they should sell to diet-conscious people and diabetics. But in fact, most diet cola consumers are normal cola buyers who occasionally feel like a less sugary, lower calorie, or different tasting option. Of course diabetics and dieters usually buy diet colas, but these few ‘loyalists’ form only a small part of the diet brand’s overall customer base; the bulk of the sales will still come from the relatively larger base of normal cola buyers. The same is seen for ‘green’ brands—a brand with sustainability claims will attract some frequent buyers who are primarily motivated by sustainable benefits, but most will be typical category buyers who simply have the brand in their repertoire and buy it occasionally. The lesson here is not to limit your communications to just sustainability driven buyers or you’ll be missing out on an extremely large and profitable group.
Ensure availability on the shelf and in the mind. Disappointingly, most marketing messages simply fail to be noticed by consumers. Consumers are bombarded with messages every day and, as a result, many messages are screened out or quickly forgotten. Therefore, a key role for marketing is to ensure maximum availability in the mind, so that your brand is more likely to be thought of when the consumer is in front of the shelf. And, as sustainability signals compete against other offers (including low cost, private label, premium, and country of origin brands), sustainability messages must be simple, consistent and repeated so that they can act as triggers at the point of brand choice and reinforce new behaviours. Likewise, if a brand cannot be physically found it cannot be chosen. Ensuring maximum physical shelf availability is also a key challenge. This is particularly important for smaller ‘green’ brands that compete for valuable shelf frontage against bigger and more established brands. Consumers choose quickly from a host of brands; they will not spend time trying to find a brand that is not immediately visible.
BUYER BEHAVIOUR ESSENTIALS FOR ‘GREEN’ BRANDS:
Understand the breadth of your potential market. Brands are typically bought by the same sort of buyer, not a specialist sub set. Ensure availability on the shelf and in the mind. Simple, consistent, repeated messages can trigger brand recall at the shelf; be sure to maximise your shelf exposure.
Use the opportunity for news, but keep it simple. Sustainability messages should require minimal consumer evaluation in order to be noticed and understood.
Do not forget the basic reason people buy you. Sustainability plays an auxiliary role in brand choice. Consumers will not compromise on cost, performance and convenience.
Use the opportunity for news, but keep it simple. Introducing a sustainability improvement is attention grabbing news for a brand—remember the novelty of the first unbleached bathroom tissues? Such news can cut through competitive clutter and gain valuable shelf space among distributors.
For consumer goods, the chances for legitimate news are rare. But while sustainability initiatives may be a talking point, they are quickly matched by competitors. Mature categories, such as washing powder, have undergone many rounds of ‘greening’—consider the multiplying strength of washing powders that have increased from ‘two times the strength’, to ‘three times’, and now ‘ultra’ concentrated powders (each corresponding with a shrinking box size). Not to mention: phosphate, petrochemical, and chlorine free; biodegradable; no dyes or preservatives; dermatologically tested; grey water (garden) safe; organic stain remover added; with baking soda; with 75% less sodium; and plant-based. Nothing remains unmatched for long but it may provide a marketer with a short-term advantage. And, given that the major challenge a brand faces is simply one for a customer’s attention, this is a convincing argument.
It’s also important to remember that, despite the fact that many people value sustainability attributes like ‘buy local’ and ‘go green’, there is a very weak relationship between these attitudes and actual purchasing of ‘sustainable’ brands. This is not to say that consumers do not place a great deal of importance on sustainability; but what consumers buy is usually based on habit and convenience rather than on fully-evaluated decisions at the shelf. Essentially, sustainability messages should require minimal consumer evaluation in order to be noticed and understood. The desired behaviour (e.g. buy phosphate free) or choice option (e.g. recycle container after use) should be clearly indicated. Complex calls to action, like visiting a web site, are likely to fail. Keep it simple and work within existing habits.
**Sustainability attributes are not the
main reasons for consumers buying; they play an auxiliary role in brand choice.**
Do not forget the basic reason people buy you. Sustainability attributes are not the main reasons for consumers buying—there is also a wider need they are trying to satisfy, be it hunger (snack foods) or hygiene (hand wash). Sustainability issues just play an auxiliary role in brand choice. While we know that most consumers want more socially and environmentally beneficial goods and services, consumers are generally unwilling to compromise in terms of cost, performance and convenience at the point of choice. Marketers must find the balance between emphases on sustainable attributes to influence consumer preference, the message that their brand still meets the core benefit demanded of the category and that the brand can hold its own against competitors.