How To Create More Sustainable Marketing Tools For Your Business

Julie Starr • May 26, 2020



Marketing is an essential element of any business. Whatever industry you work in, you need to be able to promote your products and services to your customers. 

But does marketing need to come at the expense of sustainability?

In a business that is trying to consider the sustainability of every one of its actions, how do you ensure your marketing efforts are as sustainable as possible?

Here’s how you can create more sustainable marketing tools for your business

 

Make Use Of Recycled Materials

It can be hard for businesses to exist in modern-day without producing anything. While much of your marketing can be done online, your offline marketing will involve paper. 

Create designs for flyers online and use a brochure template . Once you have the perfect design, find locally sourced sustainable supplies of recycled paper from paper recycling companies.  

By taking control of the printing process, you will have a better understanding of where your paper has come from. 

The same logic should be applied to all of your packaging design. 

 

Use Green Servers For Your Website

Every time someone opens a web page, it burns 6 grams of C02 . This may not sound a lot, but think about how many web pages you open in a day and consider how many people on this planet are doing the same. 

Internet usage accounts for 2% of all carbon emissions. With that in mind, it is essential that you consider this when carrying out your web marketing. 

Much of the environmental impact associated with this figure will come from the power it takes to run the hosting sites on which websites live. 

Find a web host for your website that only use carbon-neutral renewable sources to run their servers. 

You may need to shop around and dig deep into the way each web host operates; however, there are several green hosting companies out there that can help you lower your carbon footprint in this way. 

 

Focus On Education 

Whether your business is marketing based on its green credentials and you have a product that is designed to be environmentally friendly, or, you just want to your bit for the future of the planet, there is always room for education in your marketing. 

Point out when you are making a conscious effort to employ sustainability within your marketing. If others see you using this, it will have a two-fold benefit. Firstly, it may influence other brands to follow suit and join you on their sustainability journey, and secondly, it will give you credibility with your customers. 

If you can educate others while selling your products at no extra cost, then why would you not?

 

Use Your Green Credentials To Make The Sale

Many companies will market based on sustainability . If your products purposely shun animal testing, are ethically sourced, or are made of sustainable or recycled elements, then these are powerful sales tools in themselves. 

Make use of your green credentials, and you will appeal to a wider, more environmentally conscious customer base.

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.

Embracing Sustainability: How To Shift Your Business Efforts For A Greener Future

By Julie Starr • 26 Apr, 2024
Imagine walking into a world where every business breathes sustainability. Great, right? That’s where we’re all headed, and today, we’re looking into how your business can join this green revolution. It’s not just about planting trees or cutting back on plastic; it’s about a total game-change in how we think about business. Reimagining Your Supply Chain Alright, let’s talk about your supply chain. It’s the backbone of your company, and it might be time to give it a little eco-friendly makeover. Instead of just churning products through a one-way street from creation to landfill, think about making it a circular journey. How? By designing products that can be recycled or reused at the end of their life. This little twist not only reduces waste but could also save you some money and spark some serious innovation. Investing In Sustainable Technologies Now, onto tech. Investing in the latest tech can seem like a luxury, but when it comes to sustainability, it’s more of a necessity. Technologies like AI can make your operations super efficient, slashing energy costs and reducing waste before it even happens. And then there’s blockchain. It’s not just for crypto enthusiasts; it can help you keep your supply chain transparent, letting everyone check if you’re keeping your green promises. Empowering Employees And Building A Culture Of Sustainability But technology and plans are only part of the picture. The real magic happens when your team gets in on the action. Start with some fun workshops or team challenges—anything that gets everyone thinking about sustainability. Maybe set up a green squad within the company who can lead the charge and come up with fresh ideas. Remember, if your team is excited about a project, they’ll put their hearts into making it work. Customizing Your Sustainable Transformation Tailoring your sustainability efforts can be tricky, but it’s a lot smoother with some expert guidance, like ZBrains’ Zoho Consulting services. They’re great at tweaking Zoho’s tools to fit just right with what your business needs. Need to track your energy usage or cut down on waste? They’ve got an app for that. Automation? Yep, they can make those repetitive tasks disappear, too, all while keeping Mother Earth happy. Building Partnerships For Sustainable Innovation Going solo can be tough. Why not buddy up? Collaborating with other companies or non-profits can lead to some groundbreaking eco-friendly innovations. It’s all about sharing what you know, pooling resources, and sometimes, pushing for changes that make it easier for businesses to be green. Plus, working together means you can share the spotlight when your cool new sustainable project hits the headlines! Going Beyond Compliance Lastly, don’t just play by the rules—aim higher. There’s a whole world of eco-certifications out there that can push your business to do better. Whether it’s getting a LEED certification or joining the ranks of B Corps, going the extra mile not only helps the planet but also polishes your brand’s reputation. Think about it: customers love companies that care, so why not be the one they love? Conclusion Switching up your business to be more sustainable might seem like a big leap, but it’s all about taking one step at a time. Whether it’s rethinking your supply chain or empowering your team to lead the charge, every little action counts. Ready to start? Let’s make your business not just better, but greener and more resilient for the future.
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