The Environmental Leader, a website dedicated to energy and environmental news for businesses, has recently released what is already one of the most relevant green marketing studies ever made. Green Marketing: What Works, What Doesn't—A Marketing Study of Practitioners takes a critical look at green marketing and digs up eye-opening information, such as green marketing's effects on product pricing, what kinds of media are most used in green marketing campaigns and which of them are most effective.
Marketers have recently turned strongly to green marketing tactics as firms look for "green" business partners and businesses to jump on the corporate social responsibility bandwagon.
Because they perceive it has value, marketers are engaged in green marketing. Marketers are backing up their beliefs of the company's level of "greenness" with marketing campaigns, rather than creating green campaigns to be part of the trend (or more cynically, to deliberately shore up a known weakness).
The research suggests that management first buys into "greenness" and, later, green marketing, rather than beginning green marketing efforts simply out of a desire to appear green.
Some of the study's key findings included:
• Most marketers intend to spend more on green marketing. More than 80 percent of respondents indicated they expect to spend more on green marketing in the future.
• Smaller firms spend more. Companies with smaller marketing budgets tend to spend more on green marketing.
• Internet tops green marketing media. By far the most popular medium for green marketing was the Internet, with 74.2 percent of respondents having spent money online, followed by print (49.8 percent), direct (40 percent), outdoor (7 percent), radio and TV (7 percent) and mobile (6 percent).
• Marketers that track marketing spend and its relation to sales believe people will pay more for green products. When asked if customers would pay more for green products or to a green company, it was the direct-oriented media that showed the more positive results.
• Larger companies are more likely to target employees rather than customers. Companies with media budgets of more than $10 million annually showed a much higher proclivity to have their own employees as their target audience. Firms with budgets less than $250,000 were about 80 percent more likely to target customers directly.
• Marketers and management said marketers have control. Approximately 50 percent of management tended to agree that control of the sustainability program is in the hands of marketers.
• Firms are already taking active steps to become green. About half of the companies reported they are consciously taking steps to become more green.
• Smaller companies think green marketing is more effective than larger companies. Nearly half of respondents said the decision makers at their companies hold green marketing in high regard. Companies with decision makers who have a low regard for green marketing tend to be those with larger marketing budgets.
Buy a copy of Green Marketing: What Works; What Doesn't—A Marketing Study of Practitioners at https://reports.environmentalleader.com/.
About the Author:
A business adviser and problem solver, Gail Nickel-Kailing, managing director, Business Strategies Etc., is a nationally recognized speaker on a wide range of subjects. And as an industry analyst and journalist contributing to publications in the United States, Canada, India and Brazil, she has covered a number of "beats," particularly printing and mailing, including print on demand, variable data printing and direct mail.
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• Define their sustainability strategies,
• Deliver a positive, sustainable image,
• Gain credibility, trust and respect, and
• Measure the results of their green initiatives and actions.
Gail is a nationally recognized speaker on a wide range of subjects and brings enthusiasm and a unique blend of experience to the podium. As an industry analyst and journalist contributing to publications in the United States, Canada, India and Brazil, she has covered a number of beats, particularly sustainability in printing and mailing, print on demand, variable data printing and direct mail.