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Green Marketing: Can You Get It Right?

2 December 2019

While a couple of years ago, sustainability, green, and eco-friendly were turned used by an educated few, today is at the core of many businesses’ operations. We are moving towards a more environmentally conscious society. So, it is no wonder that it didn’t take long for green marketing to become a thing. 

 

We have ingrained the horrors of the future into our minds. Sustainability is something we talk about over coffee and what affects our buying decisions

 

The popularity of the concept has made companies rethink the way they do business. Marketing, being part of any business, is also in the middle of a revolution. 

 

That is how green marketing came to life. 

 

What is green marketing? 

 

People working on a green marketing campaign

 

Sustainable marketing, also known as green and eco-friendly marketing, is an attempt to reduce all harmful aspects of a business. It includes promotions, production, and usage. Marketing is also responsible for communicating those ideas to the public to establish loyalty, trust, increase sales, and influence the brands’ reputation. 

 

The marketers often go about it by affecting all 4Ps of marketing and making each of those stages greener. So, your marketing 4P is a great place to start if you have been looking for a simple way to make your brand more sustainable.

 

How can you do Green marketing right? 

 

World map made from greens to represent sustainable development

 

There are many ways to get sustainable marketing right and even more to get them wrong. As we have mentioned before, in most of the cases, it is about optimizing your 4P. So, if you want to become eco-friendly, look for ways to do what you do already better.

 

Your marketing is not everything, but we think one would hardly argue about its important place. 

 

Here is what you can do to cut down on the harmful effects of your business without changing everything about it. 

 

– Continuous production 

 

Everything starts with production. That means that you need to start with it. You can make your brand greener and more sustainable by choosing more eco-friendly options.  

 

It is an internal green marketing process that goes beyond just selective measures and thus is much better for the environment. It allows addressing the problem more complexly. What is it for the business? Well, installing solar panels is not only good for the world but also your business. It is an energy source that pays in the longer run. 

 

– Choosing digital

 

While you need electricity and tech resources to make the campaign work, it is nothing in commerce with more resource-demanding campaigns. So, whenever you can opt for the strategic content plan or develop a cool website instead. 

 

For some, it might seem like a limitation, but with the two-way communication that social and digital channels have allowed achieving, it is far from it. With the digital campaigns, you will create campaigns quicker and get feedback much quicker. 

 

So, if you have a product, maybe limit your printed marketing material to the quality packaging (only better if it is eco-friendly) and target the right people via your online campaign instead of printing flyers. Much greener and even more effective. 

 

The best thing about digital? Well, you might reach the right people easier than you would have with some other mediums. The world is changing, and if you want to be part of the trend, you should be changing with it. 

 

– When printing — choosing eco-friendly options

 

Printing is labor and resource-intensive, and unlike what some people might think can be made eco-friendly. Everything from the energy expenditure to the materials used can be more environmentally friendly. 

 

The latest printing technologies allow creating prints much faster and with fewer resources. For example, when compared with other types of printing, flexography is much more energy-efficient. It can help a brand save on the ink and materials used. The good flexographic panel allows for over millions of copies and can be combined with countless types of ink, including sustainable options. 

 

Printing is also all about paper — so instead of using a regular one, you can use recycled options. There are many small steps you can take to turn your marketing into green marketing by just opting for options that help the planes and ultimately you. 

 

– Longevity is the answer

 

One way you can make your sustainable marketing also forgiving for your budget is by using marketing materials that can be reused. Print trade show stands that you can use for more than once. 

 

Do you see what’s great about it? Not only you will pay less for printing but also by investing in the quality, use those materials for many times. That way, you can decrease both the production costs and waste, making the ultimate sustainable marketing move. 

 

Final verdict  — ‘Green Marketing’ is it just a lie or not really? 

 

People extending their hands to nurture a plant

 

People are skeptical about the promises of sustainable marketing. Understandably so — marketing has always been about profit, and its main goal is to maximize the companies gains. The ‘greenwashing’ the term used to describe different companies’ attempts to look more green than they are, has also not helped the reputation of green products. 

 

But it is not there is to green marketing. Yes, marketers go green because they want profit and good PR. Many of the promotional campaign rotating around the eco-friendly campaigns might not be so noble, but we have to say that the end goals usually are. 

 

When done right, going green can not only help a company establish a better and more appealing brand but can help save the world.

 

So, our verdict is — sustainable marketing is not a myth. When done right, it can help you position your brand and gain customers you would not have been able otherwise. We are not even talking about the environmental impact here, green marketing it is also your chance to stand on the right side of history.  

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