5 Best Examples For Growing A Greener Business

Julie Starr • May 19, 2020

The thing about running a business is that you want it to consistently make money and end up being profitable all the time. Sadly, some entrepreneurs follow business growth principles that are perhaps at the other end of the ethical trading spectrum.

You’re likely reading this article today because you run a business, but you want to make it greener and more ethical. But, you’re perhaps unsure which methods you should follow to make your company greener. With that in mind, take a look at these examples for inspiration:

Be more transparent
Let’s face it: one of the pet hates that most consumers have is a company’s lack of transparency. We live in an age where accountability matters and people want to know more about how their products get made and where the raw materials get sourced.

One way to make your business greener is by being more transparent. Be honest with your customers – and yourself. If your manufacturing practices aren’t particularly ethical, make a stand, and change things.

Invest in solar technology for your premises
It’s a well-known fact that photovoltaic solar panels can harness energy from the sun, enabling you to convert it into electricity or hot water. You could invest in solar technology to partly or wholly power your premises and make it more self-sustainable.

The use of solar technology for your business is a big plus point when striving for a greener and more sustainable image. Plus, your company could even receive government incentives for switching to solar power!

Strive for the paperless office
There’s no reason why, in the 21st century, you cannot achieve a paperless office. Contracts, for instance, can get signed and stored digitally , negating the need to keep vast volumes of paperwork for archive purposes.

And for the times where you must print documents on paper, aside from using recycled paper you could pledge to plant a tree for every ream of paper used. Such an approach is both ethical and an excellent marketing idea for companies looking to become greener.

Embrace the use of recycled products
A way to show that your company is heavily invested in sustainability is by embracing recycled products. For instance, tote bags with your logo are good for brand awareness. But they’re even better when they’re made with recycled materials!

You could also encourage recycling at each of your premises and use recycled paper if you must print documents out. If you run a cafe, for example, you could incentivize customers that bring in their coffee cups from home to use instead of asking for disposable ones.

Give back to the community
One final way of making your business more greener is by devoting some of your resources to giving back to your community. There are many examples of how you could do that. For instance, you could donate unused fabrics or metals to re-use organizations.

Another idea is to donate your products or services for charitable reasons, such as during times of crisis.

Things to Consider When Creating a New Product

By Julie Starr • 04 May, 2024
If you're thinking about creating a new product for your business there's a lot you need to keep at the forefront of your thoughts. When you have a new idea it can be exciting and you want to jump right in and test whether or not it will bring in some much-needed capital into your business. However, before you forge your head you need to put some brakes on your ideas. This is because you're going to need to go through a few steps to make sure that you are not wasting your time. Here's a look at the things you should do when you want to create a new product. Do Market Research Market research is the first thing you're going to need to do. No matter how great the idea you may have, if there is no demand for it then you're wasting your time and your business capital. You want to do market research to see whether people will be willing to buy your product. Once you have validated that there are customers for it you can move on to the next step. Unique Selling Proposition In the next stage of the entire process, you're going to look at the unique selling propositions of your product. How is it different from what is already out there? Why should someone buy it as opposed to another product? You have to make sure that you have some kind of innovative features that are superior in quality that will catch your customers' eyes and get them to reach into their wallets. Product Design and Development The next thing you're going to do is to make sure that you put a design and developmental system in place. This is the only way that you're going to end up with a high-quality product to put on the market. You may have to get other people to assist you or select the employees that are skilled to help create the product. If you have to do the creation of a product that requires a lab, you can use lab facilities that are located in your area. In some cases, you might have to get manufacturing help from outside of the country but with all the communication technology available this should be a breeze. Do a Cost Analysis You're going to need to do a cost analysis of the product that you are creating. You don't want to have to empty your company's piggy bank to create a product. You need to make sure that you are going to make enough of a profit based on what you will be spending to actually create the product in the first place. You don't want to shoot yourself in the foot. It's up to you to make sure that you're going to get back every penny that you are spending and then some. The type of products that you are creating should create a sense of excitement in your existing customer base. You do a survey and find out if excitement is bubbling up in them to see a new product. This can gauge how successful it will be.

6 Effective Ways To Offer Value To Customers

By Julie Starr • 02 May, 2024
Understanding that acquiring new customers can cost up to five times more than retaining them empowers you to make strategic decisions. If you're not offering value to your customers, you won't be able to retain existing ones or attract new ones. In a world where there are seemingly a million customers all offering the same thing, standing out above the noise and offering value to your customers can boost retention. Look At What You Do Well To offer value and identify the reasons why people do business with you or what makes them choose you, take pride in what you do well. Where do you excel? What entices people? What are you most proud of? It is in these areas that you find value and get a better idea of what customers want and expect. Improve Your Brand Image and Perception How people see and perceive your brand will show them what you have to offer and can be a great way to help people connect with your brand. Be clear about who you are and what you represent. It might be that your whole company is built on sustainability, and if people know this and can align with your beliefs, then you can develop a relationship with them based on mutual goals and ideals. Take some time to see what your brand perception is and what message you are putting out there about who you are, and if it doesn't wholly represent you, then you can work on changing this so the message is clear and representative of what the company is about. This can be a great way to offer people value and something another brand provides. Improved Quality The quality of what you should always be top-notch, but you can still go a little extra. It doesn't matter if you're selling whole podcasts, parts, repairs, or services; the level of quality received by the customers for the price point will often play a massive factor in whether or not they will make another purchase or become a regular customer. Even if you don't offer anything else that seems exemplary, if people are more than satisfied with the output level, you can guarantee they will definitely be back. So whether you upgrade the quality of your ingredients for food and drink-based products, offer additional content or support for your services, or outsource to machine shops for fabrication requirements, improve the quality of what you do to give you that edge over competitors. Provide A Positive Experience Value isn't always about something you offer for a price point; it's about the experience as a whole and, oftentimes, the things you don't do. By providing all customers with a positive experience , you can leave a lasting impression in their minds that they really enjoyed their contact with your company. This will help to ensure they come back to you time and again, feeling they have received a good service and this is of value to them. Many customers want to know their business is appreciated, and you can do this by ensuring that each and every interaction with your company is a smooth, positive one that requires little to no effort with a good payoff at the end of the transaction. Quality Over Price Sure, you can go out there and undercut your competitors, but this tactic isn't always the best, nor does it work for everyone. However, what you can do is emphasize the quality of the product and justify its price point. Even if it's slightly more expensive than your competitors, you can win people over by showing exactly what they're getting for their money and why it's worth its price tag. Don't be tempted to hike the price point up to give it an air of superior quality. You still need to be pricing realistically; however, by focusing on the benefits of the value of what you're offering over the price, you can show people lie in purchasing from you. Educate customers By offering tutorials, demonstrations, trial products or services, FAQs, and practical assistance, you not only offer a good value product or service but also give customers a chance to learn more about you, what you do, what you stand for, and what your company is all about.  This, in turn, along with good customer service and knowledgeable representatives, will offer your customers value as they will be able to understand your product or service better and know you're investing in our product and that you care about their experience. There are many ways to offer value to customers besides discounts or freebies. Any of these options can directly benefit your business and require little outlay.
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