Sustainable Marketing

What is sustainable marketing?

 Sustainable marketing is the promotion of environmental and socially responsible products,
practices, and brand values. ... Businesses can use sustainable marketing for a specific
product, time-sensitive cause, or even as their businesses' USP. LEGO is one company that
has nailed sustainable marketing.
 Sustainable marketing is the promotion of environmental and socially responsible products,
practices, and brand values. If you’ve ever spent a little bit more on something because you
know it was locally sourced or 100% recyclable, you’ve experienced sustainable marketing.
 Sustainable marketing involves developing and promoting products and services that meet
consumer needs utilizing resources responsibly to ensure a better quality of life now and for
future generations to come.
 The sustainability market is of significant size and growing due to increased consumer and
customer demand, rising resource costs, and increased governmental regulations.
 Sustainable marketing draws on traditional marketing methods and applies them specifically
to environmental and social initiatives and products and services.

Principles of sustainable marketing: -

 Consumer-oriented marketing: - Consumer-oriented marketing means that the company or

organization view its marketing strategy from the consumer’s point of view.
(We've already got this one covered with the inbound marketing methodology! )
 Customer value marketing: - Customer value marketing entails putting most efforts and
resources into continuously improving the value added to the offering. As the company
creates value for the customer, the customer in turn creates value for the company.
Sustainable!
 Innovative marketing: - The principle of innovative marketing ensures that an organization
never stops finding better ways to develop products, services and better ways to market.
Those that ignore innovation will lose customers to those that find better and better ways.
 Sense-of-mission marketing: - Sense-of-mission marketing is the principle that guides a
firm to define a broad mission that speaks to society rather than just the product. Adopting a
broad mission gives a company a clear, long-term direction and serves the best long-run
interests of consumers and the brand.
 Societal marketing: - With the principle of societal marketing, the company balances
decisions based on the customer wants, the company requirements, and the customer and
society’s long-term interests. For example, Method home products put the ‘hurt on dirt
without doing harm to people, creatures or the planet’. Innovative companies look ahead to
potential societal issues as opportunities.
Sustainable Marketing Principles and Strategies: -

1. Have a larger purpose.

Brands typically judge their success by the numbers. How much revenue they have or will
generate in any given period is usually the biggest indicator of success.

Sustainability shifts this perspective by having brands evaluate themselves by something bigger
than profit.

As a brand, you have to promote something that's bigger than your products and services and
transcends any particular industry.

Do you have a clear social mission? If not, spend time discovering what that is and how your
brand plays a role in furthering that mission.

For instance, fashion brand Autumn Adeigbo sells clothing, accessories, and home decor items.
However, its mission, as stated on its website, is to impact the lives of women on a global scale.
They do so by using female-owned production facilities, employing female artisans, among other
practices.

2. Think ahead.

Sustainability marketing is all about building long-term value.

Too often, brands focus on gaining immediate returns. For instance, many marketing tactics like
running Google Ads and blogging are great lead generators.

However, what happens once your lead has made a purchase and turned into a customer? How
will you build loyalty and create brand evangelists?

Sustainable marketing looks at ways to nurture consumers during the entire buyer's journey.

Education is one way to build loyalty with your audience early on. From when they first discover
you on social media to after they've made a purpose.

For instance, a food brand could educate its audience on the importance of ethical farming on
social media and continue this process post-purchase with package recycling tips.

3. Be customer-oriented.

You might be thinking, "Isn't being consumer-oriented what all marketing is? "

Ideally, yes but that's not always the case.

In traditional marketing, a brand will often try to push a product or service to a customer. With
consumer-oriented marketing, it's more about understanding your customers' needs and tailoring
your marketing to that.

For instance, say your audience is craving more transparency in your sourcing practices or want
you to be more vocal on social issues. You could use that information for your next campaign.

With so much competition out there, one way to stay customer-oriented is by innovating.

We've all heard the Blockbuster and Netflix cautionary tale. But that speaks to a huge societal
shift that Blockbuster was unwilling to make.

But the truth is, innovation doesn't always have to be so big. It can happen in small iterations –
the key here is staying in touch with your audience's needs.

4. Reflect sustainability in every aspect of your brand.

Sustainability marketing doesn't work if it's not authentic.

Imagine finding out a business that claims to be sustainable has failed to implement any practices
to promote its mission. Consumers would distrust that brand and it would be difficult to earn it
back.
Make sure your brand is looking at sustainability from a holistic lens.

Are you preaching about sustainability but use unsustainable resources to build your product?
Are you collaborating with brands that conflict with your mission? Is your team representative of
the future you want to promote?

These are the questions you should ask to determine if your brand reflects the mission you've set
out to achieve. Identify the areas that need work and go to the drawing board to figure out
strategies that align with your mission.

Audiences don't expect perfection, they do, however, value transparency. It's OK – and
recommended – to share where you currently fall short and how you plan to remedy these issues.

What are sustainable marketing benefits?

Adopting sustainable marketing will definitely help your company bear fruit. Some of
the top benefits of opting for a sustainable marketing concept include:

 Enhanced brand recognition

 Reduced costs and improved effectiveness
 Easier compliance with regulations
 Better customer and partner acquisition
 Minimized waste
 Increased ROI