Sustainability in the business landscape has significantly grown in popularity in the last few years. As consumers have become more aware of how different business practices have a huge negative impact on our planet, they expect businesses to go green or go home.
What would a world where companies would shift their focus from making profits, no matter the means or costs, to finding sustainable ways to earn revenue be like? Probably, a much better and healthier world. And, this is exactly what consumers expect.
These days, many brands have started to use their influence on making a positive impact on environmental issues. For example, reputable companies such as Ikea, Nike, HP, or Adidas are just a few examples of brands that have committed to a holistic approach to doing business.
But how exactly sustainable branding needs to be done in order to be effective? Here are 4 essential tips to help you understand the right approach:
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1. Avoid greenwash
First things first, in order to do sustainable branding, you must be a sustainable brand. It makes sense, right? Luckily, for consumers, the times when brands would put “green” on their products’ labels and sold them as eco-friendly, even if they weren’t, are long gone.
Nowadays, there are very strict regulations that force brands to avoid fake advertising in order to deceive consumers. So, these days, if you see a product that has a green label on it, you can be sure that it was produced with green practices.
On the other hand, while consumers and our planet see the positive impact these changes have, businesses can’t really say they are happy with them. Branding a product or a business as being “green” can be very risky if you can’t back up your statements with real facts and data. For example, H&M is one of the most reputable companies that has been accused of doing misleading sustainable branding. The Norwegian Consumer Authority claims that the claims of H&M are misleading and vague.
That being said, before you reshape your marketing strategy into a sustainable one, make sure your business can be promoted as an eco-friendly one.
2. Approach sustainable branding functionally and emotionally
In today’s world, when consumers have become more drawn to living an eco-friendlier life, market trends have been reshaped in order to fulfill their needs and wants. Sustainable brands aren’t a new thing but this concept has significantly grown in popularity in the last decade because this is what consumers want.
So, how does sustainable branding attract customers? There are two approaches that make sustainable branding appealing for consumers: emotional and functional branding positioning. The functional one has a powerful impact on the rational mindset of consumers. Those who already know the environmental issues our planet is facing want to see changes in the business landscape to minimize the consequences of corporate pollution.
Whereas, the emotional approach addresses the consumer’s emotional need for doing good. Consumers feel good when they know that their purchases contribute to saving our planet.
So, considering these two green branding positioning approaches, your sustainable branding strategy needs to address both these needs of the consumers in order to change their perception towards your business.
To have the best results from your marketing efforts you must trigger the perception of emotional benefits in your target audience while also sustaining your green business practices with information on the environmental benefits.
3. Identify environmental red buttons
Identifying the environmental red buttons that concern customers shouldn’t be difficult thanks to today’s Internet. All that it takes is to make a little research and the best topics you can use in your green branding strategy are just a Google search away.
If you want to win the hearts and the minds of your target audience, you must understand exactly what are their concerns regarding our planet. Depending on your location, you can look for a common problem that interferes with your target audience’s everyday lives. For example, if your business is located in a metropolis where there is high traffic and, obviously, a lot of pollution, you can address the problem of pollution from gas emissions.
If your business is located in an area where the main concern of your target audience is deforestation, you can focus your strategy on planting new trees or recycling wooden materials to avoid cutting down the forests.
Also, you can take an example from businesses from the world’s most eco-friendly countries such as Denmark or Sweden. All brands in these countries have shifted their focus towards a sustainable approach depending on what needs they have identified in their customers and what environmental red buttons they have found in those areas.
The key to winning at green branding is to identify what exactly your consumers think that could reduce the impact of your business on our planet.
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4. Resist the urge to over-communicate
Instead of publishing a 10 pages report on how sustainable your brand is, it is better to come up with a motto that simplifies it. The average consumer has very little knowledge of scientific definitions and language about environmental issues. You may want to prove a point by filling your website pages with a lot of content about how sustainable your business is. But if the readers can’t understand a thing, it is very unlikely for your post to have a major impact on them.
You can come up with a powerful motto such as other reputable companies have. For example, while Nike promises to “build a better world”, Method promises to “stand against dirt”. These two mottos made with only a few words can have a powerful impact on consumers because they have a clear message of what the brands promise to them.
Learn how to tell your green mission story with just a few powerful words to attract your target audience. And, later, after they shift their perception towards your brand, you can provide them with more information regarding your sustainability commitment.
Sustainability is an aspirational that all brands aim to reach. Not only that corporate social responsibility is a great way for brands to stand out from their competitors but it also attracts customers and makes them loyal. However, if your brand wants to join the era of sustainable brands in the perception of the consumers, it must first become a sustainable brand.
