Successful Green Marketing Focuses On Consumer Needs

June 20, 2007

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Green marketing must satisfy two objectives: Improved environmental quality and customer satisfaction. Misjudging either or overemphasizing the former at the expense of the latter is what can be called green marketing myopia – a corporate preoccupation with a products “greenness” rather than consumer needs, Marketing Profs reports.

When consumers are convinced of “non-green” benefits, they are more inclined to adopt green products (whether promoted as such or not). According to the article, green products succeed when marketers kept their eyes on ”The Three Cs”: consumer value positioning, calibration of consumer knowledge, and credibility of product claims

Here are some tips from the article:

Educate consumers with marketing messages that connect environmental product attributes with desired consumer value (for example, “pesticide-free produce is healthier,” “energy-efficiency saves money,” or “solar power is convenient”).
Frame environmental product attributes as “solutions” for consumer needs, for example, “rechargeable batteries offer longer performance.”
Create engaging and educational Web sites about environmental products’ desired value.
Make sure that environmental product and consumer claims are specific, meaningful, and qualified.
Encourage positive word of mouth via consumers’ social and internet communication networks with compelling, interesting, or entertaining information about environmental products.

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