In a marketplace of millennials who are increasingly focused on sustainability, businesses that embrace eco-conscious practices can establish themselves as leaders in their respective industries. But the question is, where do you start?
Furthermore, how do you get your business to stop looking at sustainability as an afterthought – a ‘nice-to-have’ when everything else is going well – and start viewing it as a core element of your strategic focus so that you can enhance your marketing? We’re going to explore all of that (and more) in this article.
The Why of Sustainability in Business
As you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a significant shift in the environmental focus of businesses over the past 15 years. More specifically, there’s been a massive pivot over the past five years, as millennial consumers have started to demand that companies become more responsible with their environmental footprints.
According to one study, 60% of Gen Z and millennials only buy eco-friendly brands. And additional reports indicate that a substantial majority of consumers prefer purchasing from brands committed to sustainability.
Moreover, an increasing number of buyers actively look for products and services with lower environmental footprints, reflecting a broader societal shift towards conscientious consumption.
This is more than a trend. This is a movement that requires businesses to make strategic decisions about the direction they take if they want to reach and engage millennials with more compelling marketing messages that resonate on a deep level.
How to Give Yourself a Greener Marketing Message
Every business model is different. And your company faces certain limitations and restraints that others do not. Having said that, here are some of the most accessible ways to move in a greener direction that allows you to enhance your marketing messages to millennials.
1. Embrace Ethical Sourcing
Most companies just work with the least expensive and most reliable suppliers they can find. But if you’re going to prioritize eco-friendliness, you need to embrace a posture of ethical sourcing. This means evaluating supply chains to ensure fair labor practices, responsible resource extraction, and humane treatment.
2. Reduce Waste
Businesses often produce significant amounts of waste, which negatively impact their local communities and the larger environment. Reducing this waste should be a major focus of your emphasis on going green.
Businesses can minimize waste by optimizing inventory management, reducing overstocking, and implementing innovative packaging solutions. From utilizing biodegradable materials to adopting reusable packaging, these steps can significantly curtail your environmental impact.
3. Partner With Eco-Friendly Companies
There are businesses in your industry and further up and down your supply chain that are equally focused on sustainability. You need to find these companies and collaborate with them as much as possible. By building partnerships with these companies, you can ensure environmentally friendly practices are honored across the entire supply chain.
This includes not just physical products, but digital products as well. Even something like web design and development should be up for evaluation. Many companies are transitioning to Umbraco as a more sensible option that’s far more efficient and environmentally friendly than typical CMS platforms.
When you partner with eco-friendly companies, you’re able to reference this in your marketing messages. Because you have total confidence in every stage of your supply chain, you can make more specific and powerful claims.
4. Develop Sustainable Products
Rethink product design to incorporate recyclable or biodegradable materials. This will reduce waste generation and give you “brownie points” with millennial customers who are big on minimizing waste after a product is opened and used. This approach aligns with the circular economy concept, prolonging the lifespan of materials and minimizing environmental harm.
Sustainable packaging and materials are essentially an independent marketing mechanism. When people see a sustainable product on the shel, it’s like a mini billboard that speaks to them and communicates your commitment to being green.
Give Your Business a Marketing Edge With Millennial Consumers
Business leaders usually go about “green” marketing in the wrong way. They assume that it’s about creating an image of how eco-friendly their company is. But that’s not it at all. That’s the “fake” way, which discerning millennial consumers see right through.
If you want your marketing messages to be defined by sustainability and minimized environmental impact, you need to actually transform your business around these ideas. Once your business has a green identity, your marketing messages will naturally flow out of this – leading to genuine content, ads, and materials that build trust with millennials.
