Outreach: The Best Form of Marketing & Branding for a Green Company

Austin, Texas: I was asked at a panel discussion recently what would be the one best way for a green marketer to increase sales.  I immediately responded with OUTREACH.

After some discussion and debate, I came to the conclusion that I had given the right answer.

Sure, everybody wants to increase sales, so they start planning creative strategies.

Focus groups.

Visits with ad agency and or marketing departments.

New product features–gotta have them.

New ad campaign–a must to justify this campaign.

Sleeker packaging–why not?

The list goes on–products, features, benefits, etc.

All these are fine.  But so what?

Why should customers care?

The base for green products is not growing at the same rapid pace it has for the past decade.  The greenies are all on board, as I had mentioned in a previous post.

But what about the rest of the population?

If you are not doing outreach programs to promote green causes and the benefits of going green, you will not expand your market share. In fact, if every company in your field promoted a green product to the same base, your market share will dry up quickly, as competition for that segment will increase.

Set aside a good amount of your green marketing and advertising budget–and spend it on creating awareness for environmental issues:

• recycling
• reuse of products
• carbon footprint
• cap and trade
• sustainability
• alternative energy
• pollution reduction

Your products and services should only be mentioned in passing — or as an afterthought.

Outreach should be done to create passion.

To build the base.

To inspire social change.

Can it be political?  Sure.  Will it create some negative impact among non-greenies? Possibly, so tread carefully.  But if you are truly a green company, the positive will surely outweigh the negative.  And, if you are truly green, those that are most offended are probably not going to be your ultimate target market any way.

At your next show, will you be touting product benefits–or building the base through outreach?

Outreach first.  Sales will follow.

That is the best way to increase green product sales over the next decade–and beyond.

Let’s Make Every Day Earth Day

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Robert Piller, President of Eco Marketing Solutions, has over 25 years of experience in running and implementing green marketing campaigns and is a leader in the recycled promotional products industry, including offering one of the largest selections of reusable and organic tote bags, recycled and biodegradable water bottles, recycled pens and pencils in the country.

His company’s website, EcoMarketingSolutions.com, features over 25,000 eco-friendly promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find biodegradable, organic and recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame.

You can also reach him by email (robert (at) ecomarketingsolutions.com) or comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com or below at his Twitter link.

Fifty percent of large businesses and 25 percent of their suppliers have reduced supply chain costs by managing carbon emissions, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s 2011 Supply Chain Report. But observers say most retailers have only begun to limit the amount of carbon their supply chains release into the atmosphere.

In 2007, Wal-Mart brought carbon emissions to the forefront, as they put into place programs for their vendors to significantly reduce its impact on the planet.

Fortune magazine noted in 2006 that Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott had declared his intention to “turn the world’s largest retailer into the greenest”.

According to NRF Stores, “Some companies participate to comply with governmental regulations”, says Chris Callieri, a principal at A.T. Kearney, the management consulting company that writes the CDP supply chain report. “European governments demand more stringent reporting than the United States requires”, he says, admitting that momentum toward U.S. reporting has flagged with the election of a Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Besides meeting regulatory obligations, companies take part to build credibility for their sustainability efforts, Callieri says. Sustainability can differentiate companies from competitors and raise companies’ status among ecologically minded consumers.

Whether or not these energy changes are being made strictly for altruistic reasons or due to pressure from Wal-Mart, significant reductions in global carbon emissions are being made.

There are dozens of ways to improve efficiencies and reduce carbon footprint, from reduced packaging sizes, energy savings, distribution consolidation, etc. and these can lead to lower prices and/or higher profits.

In four short years, half of these suppliers have cut emissions.  Most of these are most likely the larger companies, that have sustainability directors and shareholder meetings.

Now it is time for the smaller vendors to step up and do their part to achieve lower emissions. Hopefully Wal-Mart and others will make best practices available to its supply chain and send mentors, consultants or experts to these facilities to find areas of improvement.

With Wal-Mart’s insistence, I am sure the low hanging fruit of savings have already been realized by these vendors.

Now is the time for more radical changes that can help make these suppliers more competitive, both at home and abroad.

Let’s hope the next 4 years bring these mid-size suppliers impactful energy savings that really matter.

Then, the small factories can follow suit four years after that.

Although these energy efficiency savings go on behind closed doors, let’s hope that these companies achieve recognition by consumers, who can and should support them.

Perhaps a Wal-Mart Seal of Approval? Maybe a Wall of Fame at the front of each Wal-Mart.

Le’s support those that are striving to reduce their carbon footprint – and achieving significant results.

Here’s to a greener tomorrow, today.

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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and recycled promotional products, has worked to help plant over 25 million trees through his live tree seedling gift program over the past dozen years. His company’s website, EcoMarketingSolutions.com, features over 25,000 eco-friendly promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find biodegradable, organic and recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame.

You can also reach him by email (robert (at) ecomarketingsolutions.com) or comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com or below at his Twitter link.

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As a green marketer, I have talked about the need to shift away from printed catalogs–at least in the quantities that you have been printing.

Think about the number of catalogs that you throw out at the end of each year — or still have stuck in the corner of your office or warehouse (in case it becomes an eBay classic).

There are a few simple ways to cut your catalog printing and I suggest using a variety of the following steps, as they are not mutually exclusive:

1) Put your catalog on line.  We have just uploaded our 2011 catalog with page-flipping technology, so it reads as easily as a print catalog.

Click here to take a look at how we have jumped on this new technology,which is now offered by dozens of companies.  A page-flip online catalog is much easier than a PDF file to read.   Most will have zoom capabilities and an index, so it resembles the experience of print catalogs.

2) Put your catalog on CD or USB Flash Drives:   CD catalogs are antiquated (remember those from AOL for 30 day trials)..so I’d make the leap to USB flash drives, if you have the budget.  These can have your logo on them, and the drives can be in the form of a pen, keyfob, custom shape, recycled materials, etc.   These will be keep your logo in front of your client–while having your catalog at your prospect’s or client’s fingers–literally.

3) Have your catalog accessedthrough the use of QR codes.  Use these scan-ready codes on your business cards, flyers, postcards, promotional products –everywhere. Some people even use their QR codes as their image on LinkedIn and Twitter for maximum reach.

4) Switch from catalogs to sell sheets, flyers, postcards,etc.  If you are exhibiting at a trade show, a simple flyer or two can be more effective–and prevent the great dumping of catalogs at the airport or at night when attendees are just too tired to carry their briefcase any longer.  For those that are more qualified, a full-print catalog may be acceptable at that time, or the USB flash drive would be best.

Remember, not everybody that stops by your booth is a qualified prospect.  Use your catalogs more wisely.

If you use direct mail, a series of postcard mailings can be more effective than one bulk catalog mailing. Those that still need a full print catalog will let you know…but will be few and far between

If your company is going green, show your prospects and your clients that you are doing your best to reduce your carbon footprint.  Switch to digital catalogs is a good first step.

Here’s to a greener tomorrow, today.

PS Let me know how your reduction in print catalogs has affected your sales and costs..and if the switch was worth it to your company.  I’d be interested to hear from you.
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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and recycled promotional products, has worked to help plant over 25 million trees through his live tree seedling gift program over the past dozen years. His company’s website, EcoMarketingSolutions.com, features over 25,000 eco-friendly promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find biodegradable, organic and recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame.

You can also reach him by email (robert (at) ecomarketingsolutions.com) or comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com or below at his Twitter link.

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As people are becoming more environmentally-conscious, what you give and how you wrap your presents can have a major impact on the planet’s eco-systems. By reducing waste and encouraging recycling efforts, you can do your part to help reduce you carbon footprint, while aiming for a cleaner planet.

GreenSpotBlog.com has put together their Top 10 list of simple ways to help make this a greener holiday season.

1. Instead of wasteful wrapping paper, use a re-usable gift bag or tote bag.
2. Choose products that already come in an attractive gift box and just add a silk ribbon to it. Silk ribbons can be re-used many times – and they are natural.
3. Use raffia or hemp ribbon instead of synthetic ribbon. These decorative accessories now come in many colors and shades.
4. Use recycled wrapping paper – or use newspaper to wrap your gifts.That’s right, wrapping a gift in newspaper is back in style and will connote an eco-friendly message to the recipient. You can even use plantable gift tags embedded with flower seeds (www.bloomsforacause.com), and let people know that you are going green.
5. Place a gift inside a flower pot and tie a raffia ribbon around it.This unique packaging will truly stand out. For an added touch, drop in a seed packet as well-two gifts in one.
6. When sending gifts, make sure they are not fragile. Otherwise you will have to add a great deal of bubble wrap or packaging peanuts to prevent damage.
7. Keep in mind the shape and size of gifts when mailing out gifts. Odd-shaped gifts need larger boxes and wasteful packaging, which will not only cost you more money, but it will likely end up in a landfill.
8. Give a gift that grows or blooms. Companies such as www.lovestogarden.com offer a variety of indoor garden gifts that will grow, including a Christmas tree-in-a-can kit that will grow into a giant Christmas tree in about 20 years.
9. Choose eco-friendly gifts, such as those made from recycled or organic material. Vote with your pocketbook by supporting companies that are helping to reduce waste and improve the environment.
10. Recycle your wrapping paper, boxes and other material and encourage your neighbors to recycle, as well.

By becoming a good steward of the planet’s natural resources and discouraging needless waste, we can all help to make this a green holiday season.

©GreenSpotBlog.com

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Robert Piller is President of EcoMarketing Solutions LLC, a company that helps businesses promote themselves to their customers and prospects using environmentally-friendly promotional products that won’t end up in a landfill. He can be reached at robert@ecomarketingsolutions.com.

Thank goodness for Global Warming and the melting ice caps. Now, because of melting ice caps in Alaska’s Arctic regions, oil tankers, fishing vessels and even cruise ships are able to “venture into a realm once trolled mostly by indigenous people”, according to the Associated Press.

That same report says that business is now growing so rapidly that the U.S. Coast Guard is opening up “two temporary stations on the nation’s northernmost waters, anticipating the day when an ocean the size of the contiguous United States could be ice-free for most of the summer”.

Scientists estimate that within 20 years, the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free during the summer. As the ice melts, sea levels will rise, so, in essence, we will turn land masses into islands in the summer.

What an opportunity for people who have previously vacationed at every land mass and destination around the globe and just want to set sail in waters that were recently covered by glaciers. Global warming will create an opportunity for millions of people to take a cruise ship to an area that was once covered with ice caps and visit the top of a mountain region that is now at sea level.

I can picture hotel development being planned right now for mountainous regions of Greenland for the upcoming summer traffic. All these hotels atop mountains may look strange in the winter, but come summer, it will be sail in, sail out—oceanfront property.

Forget sunny Hawaii and the Caribbean. Pretty soon, it will be “Viva Greenland” for the suntan of a lifetime. And to think, we have global warming to thank for this vacation fantasy come true.

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Robert Piller is President of Eco Marketing Solutions LLC, a company that helps businesses promote themselves to their customers and prospects using environmentally-friendly promotional products that won’t end up in a landfill. He can be reached at robert@ecomarketingsolutions.com.

The word “sustainability” is used a great deal these days, without any clear or complete definition. In fact, the meaning is rather ambiguous, at best.

Probably the most recognized definition of sustainability comes from the 1987 report Our Common Future—better known as the Brundtland Report—which states that development is sustainable when it “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Steve Johnson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, stated that ” We have a responsibility to sustain – if not enhance – our natural environment and our nation’s economy for future generations.”

It is interesting to note that neither statement favors environmental protectionism over commerce or vice versa. Rather it states that the two must work together for the common good. It recognizes the needs of the current population must be met in a way that does not adversely affect the environment.

Though there is no clear method to measure sustainability, climate neutrality is considered the highest of sustainability goals by many governments, NGOs, businesses and other institutions. Most charters that deal with sustainability encourage the integration of environmental, economic and social goals in policies and in activities—both on a global and local level.

The EPA’s Sustainability Research Strategy examined several interrelated and complex factors—such as growing human populations, increases in waste production, growing energy demands, and land development—in the hopes of better understanding their effects on the earth’s natural systems.

How does sustainability take into account the growing human overpopulation combined with current lifestyle patterns? It should be no surprise that there are studies that support both sides of the equation—both that the current world population is too large to support sustainability, and others that argue that it is sustainable. What can be agreed upon is that the “ecological footprint” of some countries is greater than others. For example, the ecological pressure of a US resident is believed to be approximately 12 times that of a resident of India and 24 times that of a Somali resident. Even in the Unites States, certain states have a stronger “ecological footprint” than others. For example, nearly one-third of the U.S. population resides in the 17 Western states, which include seven of the nation’s 10 fastest growing states. As these states continue to see a continued growth expansion it will continue to affect the allocation and use of resources.

As the population grows and shifts, it is interesting to note that natural resources have an interrelated effect on one another. According to the EPA’s Sustainability Research Strategy report, “since 1971 each 1 percent increase in worldwide GDP has resulted in a 0.64 percent increase in energy use. Most of the energy has been produced from fossil fuels, so the increased energy use has led to greater emissions of air pollutants from the combustion of these fuels. Nearly half of U.S. water withdrawals are used for cooling power plants and water is also used to scrub air pollutants from flue gas; so rising energy use increases both demand for and pollution of water. Extraction of fossil fuels from the earth requires use of more materials, changes the surrounding land, and produces more wastes (i.e. unwanted materials). Finally, increased energy use impacts ecosystems through such factors as silt runoff from energy extraction activities and the decline in water quality caused by runoff from mining facilities. Interactions like these demonstrate forcefully that a systems approach offers the best strategy for understanding environmental impacts and for designing cost-effective and sustainable policy responses.

In regards to land development, the Sustainability Research Strategy report notes the correlation to impervious surfaces , such as roads and rooftops, and the degradation of water quality due to increased” runoff volume, stream sedimentation and water acidity”. According to the report, a single “one-acre parking lot produces a runoff volume almost 16 times as great as would an undeveloped meadow of the same size.” Therefore, the importance of green building and green design is crucial as the population expands, both for new development and replacement construction.

For generations, the importance and seriousness of sustainability have been understood, so why has there been so much resistance to it? The precautionary principle states that “if there is a risk that an action could cause harm, and there is a lack of scientific consensus on the matter, the burden of proof is on those who would support taking the action.”

Therefore, as long as there are pundits on both sides of the sustainability equation, change will continue to be gradual. However, as global warming continues to heat up the planet, many developing nations are beginning to implement policies in support of sustainable development. Coupled with corporate social responsibility, greater public awareness and a better understanding of carbon footprints, the goal of sustainability can become a reality.

Here’s hoping for a clear and legitimate definition for sustainability, so we can help work towards a solution.

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Robert Piller is President of Eco Marketing Solutions LLC, a company that helps businesses promote themselves to their customers and prospects using environmentally-friendly promotional products that won’t end up in a landfill. He can be reached at robert@ecomarketingsolutions.com.