As in many of my previous blog postings, I have titled them “knowing…” Although many of you may not have thought twice about this, I did this intentionally. Knowing—the act of being in the know—is really the only way to attract and retain the green and LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) consumer and achieve positive effects of green marketing. That is why this discussion is focused around “knowing” how to reach these consumer groups offline.
If you know, you’re one step closer than other companies who base everything on an assumption—the underlying one being that this consumer group acts, behaves, thinks and makes purchases exactly the same or similar to the general, or mainstream, consumer. This is not the case, as I’ve mentioned previously. Once you read the series of my blog postings, you’ll have a little more knowledge and understand that these green and health-focused consumer groups couldn’t be more different than the mass-market consumer group.
In fact, you don’t even reach them the same way in order to achieve positive effects of green marketing.
Here are some things to consider when reaching them offline:
• Focus on strategies that communicate directly to them—more of a one-on-one communication such as direct mail or email.
• When using strategies that could generate potential waste such as direct mail, find ways to make the process and product more environmentally friendly (green), such as:
o Using soy-based inks to print a direct mail piece.
o Mail less frequently and use email in between.
o Use a higher content of post-consumer waste paper when printing collateral pieces. The industry standard in the U.S. today is at least 20-30 percent. Try to get as high a content of recycled paper as possible.
o Make sure any promotional product you give away is environmentally friendly. You don’t want to lose them along the way when they discover that you don’t practice what you preach. This won’t help you achieve positive effects of green marketing.
• Find communities where they participate and become involved. Find a way to make them aware of your organization.
• Make sure your message focuses on benefits rather than just features and is educational. It’s not enough to say that something is environmentally friendly; you have to explain what that means. How was the product manufactured, what was the process, what type of recycled product was used? How is this better for the consumer?
I’ll cover this topic further in other blog postings as I could just about write a book on it—knowing how to reach green consumers offline to achieve positive effects of green marketing. There is one chapter just on this subject in the How Consumer Trends Drive Profits course at my website.
Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends
Colette Chandler
