Including green practices in their marketing campaigns can give businesses many advantages. From attracting new customer segments to developing competitive advantage, they can experience multiple benefits. The proper implementation of any green marketing initiative depends primarily on the plans that businesses create and the tools and processes they use.
While some green marketing initiatives are industry-specific or product-specific, there are a few activities that managers can include into their campaigns. Some of the strategies that companies can use to make their green marketing campaigns a brilliant success are as follows.
- Be proactive in implementing green practices
The success of green initiatives depends on focused implementation of the strategies. Only when businesses follow through with their promises, do customers implement these strategies at their end. Some of the activities that businesses can do include:
- Source locally produced products – Companies that purchase locally grown and produced products do not invest too much in transport and this ensures a reduction in their carbon footprint. Additionally, they provide local citizens a means to earn a living. Sustainability isn’t just about being environment-friendly, it is also about being people-friendly.
- Use electronic materials – E-newsletters, electronic document kits, and emails are a few ways in which businesses can reduce their consumption of paper. Widespread usage of paper leads to deforestation, which is harmful to the economy. Additionally, certain types of ink used in pens are not soluble and can contaminate the earth.
- Hybrid and electric vehicles – Electric and hybrid vehicles do not consume scarce resources such as petroleum. They also do not give out harmful emissions. When businesses use electric and hybrid vehicles for company cabs, they mitigate major environmental concerns.
- Choose green packaging – Using biodegradable packaging for products goes a long way in helping companies be more sustainable. The major disadvantage with most of the conventional packaging materials is that they cannot be disposed-off safely.
- Create eco-awareness
Many customers may not be aware of sustainable practices. By educating them of the same, businesses can ensure that customers too do their part in reducing their carbon footprint.
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- Promoting responsible product use and disposal
While designing eco-friendly products do help, encouraging customers to use and dispose of these products responsibly is as important. Consider products for sanitary hygiene such as sanitary napkins and condoms. Businesses should include proper use and dispose instructions on the label and educate customers to follow these rules every time they use the product.
- Work with sustainable third-party businesses
For a business to be sustainable, all of its partner companies must be sustainable too. From manufacturers to retailers, every single channel member needs to implement green practices for there to be a successful, positive impact.
- Engage in transparent communication
Keep your stakeholders informed about every decision you take. Any new process or strategy implementation needs to be highlighted. Avoid covering up any failures in the implementation of green marketing practices as this will only do more harm than good. When you trust your customers with your successes and failures, they are more likely to support you in the long run.
