Show that your business cares about the environment by focusing on green products and eco-friendly business practices in your marketing strategies. Here are some of the best green marketing ideas for small businesses, to show that you care for the environment and to offer a greener option for your customers.
Create An Eco-Friendly Selling Point
Your green marketing strategy ought to be a business strategy too, not just a gimmick for marketing. The best and most thoughtful green marketing strategy and idea is to create selling points for your business that are actually eco-friendly. Decide how you can best adapt your current business practices or your existing products to be more green and more eco-friendly. A strategy you could implement could be marketing the fact that your product is a low-energy solution. Having a product or a service that uses less energy or produce less waste than other options on the market or than a traditional method is a good way to differentiate your offer.
Another good selling point for many customers is to promote healthier living with fewer chemicals. This is particularly effective for those who have children or pets. This greener marketing idea works well for businesses who offer services like carpet cleaning with cleaning agents that are non-toxic, or lawn care without chemical weed killers. If your business offers a green product or service that is the main focal point of your business, make sure that eco-friendly selling points are at the center of your marketing messages.
The key selling points for eco-friendly marketing could include phrases like:
– Low-energy solution
– Sustainable product
– Non-toxic ingredients
– Low waste
– Low emissions
– Chemical-free
– Recycled materials
Brand With Green Logos Or Insignias
If you offer a green product of some kind, or if your business takes part in eco-friendly practices, you can make use of a variety of different logos and insignias for your marketing and company branding that represent your green credentials. This could include your website, advertising, marketing materials, signage, packing, business cards, and vehicle graphics. Logo examples that you could use include the standard recycling arrow logo to indicate recycled or recyclable materials, Energy Star Rating logo, membership logos like the US Green Building Council, or logos that confirm you don’t test on animals. You could also choose to design a custom logo for your business or industry as an effective way to communicate your green efforts and offering to stand out from your competition who don’t have the same green credentials.
Print On Recycled Paper
A simple and well-known way to save on resources is to use recycled paper. Using recycled paper is an easy way to demonstrate that your business is environmentally conscious. Most printing vendors now offer an option for an eco friendly flyer, brochure, or business card to be printed on recycled paper, for similar prices to regular paper.
If your business is very focused on environmental concerns and marketing in a greener way, then spending a little bit more money on recycled paper is a very important, yet still simple, first step in making your marketing strategy much kinder to the planet.
Invest In Online Marketing
Online marketing, or e-marketing, is a much more environmentally friendly way of getting the word out than offline marketing methods like direct mail or printed advertising. The good news, especially for small businesses with smaller marketing budgets, is online is also a lot cheaper to use than offline marketing is. Placing an online banner advert is a low-cost alternative to taking out a print advert. It also produces no printed waste and has no negative impact on the environment. Social media is also a very cost-effective way to communicate with customers and potential leads.
The most obvious place to cut back on offline marketing is printed direct mail, but replacing all your printed coupon mailers could be a challenge for small businesses that currently rely on customers redeeming coupons to drive sales. Instead of this, small businesses should look into investing in growing their email database as an alternative solution to sending out regular direct mails. There are also lots of online coupon deal offers with email marketing that can be an effective way to increase sales for small businesses and reduce dependence on wasteful printed coupon mailers.
Promote Local Vendors
Using local vendors and suppliers is a good green practice for your business, as you can reduce your carbon emissions by having local delivery of products and supplies. Make sure your customers know that you support your local economy and that you are minimizing your carbon emissions by doing this. If you are in the food industry, using fresh produce from local farmers can also be a big selling point. Make sure you cross-promote too to spread the word further.
Operate Fuel Efficient Vehicles
The vehicles that you use for things like delivery, sales, and service also have a big impact on your brand image. As your vehicle travels through your local area and your market territory, they make a lot of impressions on your local customers and prospects. If you choose to operate hybrid vehicles for your delivery or other vehicles, you will be able to save on gas expenses for your business, and will also be able to send a clear message that your business is eco-friendly. Be sure to include your green marketing messages and logos on your vehicle’s graphics and branding.
Environmental Donations And Charities
Another simple green marketing idea is to support environmental initiatives by making donations or taking actions that help a local cause that supports the environment. Customers can also support your chosen cause if you offer environmental incentives for sales, such as planting trees or donating part of a sale’s profits to an environmental organization or charity. Make sure you clearly communicate that you’re doing this to your customers to reinforce your green business practices.
These marketing ideas are just small steps that small business can take in order to reduce their carbon footprint and demonstrate to customers that choosing your business can make a difference to the environment.
Websites by Masterhouse
Masterhouse Media is an innovative digital consulting agency from Vancouver, BC specializing in web development and mobile apps. Masterhouse is best known for launching the popular Internet portal Clubvibes.com in 1999, one of the first social media platforms on the Internet. The company is currently focused on building digital strategies and premium websites for clients. Find out more at masterhouse.net
