What is Green Marketing?

What are its benefits & importance?

The way modern businesses and the modern marketing function has led to unfavourable effects on the environment. With the rapid economic growth, mass production has become a reality, which has resulted in using unhealthy marketing tactics and the overuse of the world’s resources. Together, such factors have threatened the entire ecological balance. Here is where green marketing comes into the picture.

Green marketing means marketing environment-friendly products and services. The term was coined in the late 1980s and early 1990s and is also known as environmental marketing or eco-marketing. As a concept, it is becoming more and more popular as millennials and Gen-Z understand the importance of saving the environment.

Green marketing can be done in a plethora of ways. Some green marketing examples include creating products using eco-friendly or sustainable raw materials, using eco-friendly packaging, switching to sustainable business practices, and so on. Efforts are being taken by people, organisations, and governments around the world to reduce the adverse impact current actions are having on the planet.

Green marketing raises a voice against such environmental harm and changes the production, consumption, and disposal of products. A similar approach has been in the advent of digital payments and online ledger experience such as the OKCredit application. We can now record the credit/payment transactions digitally and opt-out of physical bills that end up with non-recyclable trash.

In today’s world, green marketing is becoming a profitable venture due to its growing demand. For a substantial chunk of the audience, the environmental benefits outweigh the cost of products and services. Such consumers become active advocates of green marketing and have the power to influence others.

Why is Green Marketing important?

Our planet is facing plenty of environmental issues. From pollution to overpopulation, the Earth is overwhelmed by our constant need and greed. To lessen this and create a positive impact, many companies are making the shift towards green marketing. Some green marketing benefits include:

• Reduction in the adverse impact on the environment due to production.
• Increase in production of sustainable products.
• Improvement in the credibility of the brand.
• Reducing carbon footprint and saving energy.
• Competitive edge.
• Higher revenue and long-term growth.

Since more and more corporations are adopting the idea of green marketing, there are now a lot of green advertising examples, the most prominent in the digital payments sector being OKCredit that helps small and mid-sized businesses by keeping a record of credit/payment transactions digitally all over India. With its inception in 2017, this tech startup pledged to use uncomplicated and secure means of administering credit and debt records. It is 100%  paperless and digitised, thereby helping businesses have a secure portal for credit and debt-related transactions. With OKCredit’s green marketing initiatives, it encourages consumers to be mindful of the impact their practices may have on the environment.

Demonstrating and practicing green marketing also leads to brand loyalty amongst customers that are socially and environmentally conscious. However, if you are using green marketing without having green practices within your organisation, it is known as ‘greenwashing’. It is a method used to deceive customers into believing that certain products and services are environmentally friendly.

What are the types of green marketing?

Green marketing requires companies to plan and implement sustainable business methods and be authentic about their practices.

1. Design: A crucial green marketing strategy is to use materials that are green. This means that the products and services of a company are green right from its initial stage - from conceptualisation to execution.
2. Positioning: This kind of strategy promotes transparency. Every action by the company should be sustainable and green. It means that the very values of a company should be altered to incorporate green marketing. Some examples include not testing on any animals, helping women find jobs, using funds to promote global awareness issues, and so on.
3. Pricing: Though such a purchase may be costly in the beginning, it is important to make customers learn about the long-term benefits in the form of saving resources and money. Through green pricing, customers understand how they can reduce their consumption and do their bit towards sustainability.
4. Logistics: A company should not only make its products and services green, but it should also focus on making its packaging green. The packaging should be free of wasteful materials and not include materials that have the potential to harm the environment, like plastics and air-bubble wraps.
5. Disposal: The last strategy is also the last step in any product life cycle - disposal. If the disposal practices of a corporation are unsustainable, they can cause harm to the environment. To put it simply, from the production stage to the disposal stage, everything should be green!

Key to successful green marketing:

1. As a brand, you need to be genuine about what you do - this means you should practice what you preach. Every activity that takes place in your organisation should be to go green. It also helps to be consistent in your message to the consumers, with a focus on transparent policies and practices.
2. The second significant step is to educate your customers about the importance of being sustainable. You can explain how certain practices damage the environment and lead to climate change. By showcasing how your products and services can reduce such harm, you are building your credibility in the minds of your consumer. You can also showcase the importance of your initiative by choosing a particular cause that also shows a focused approach. One year could be ongoing paperless, while the other could be to save marine life.
3. Lastly, you can encourage your customers to participate in your campaigns. They can purchase your products and services and be a part of a bigger and positive environmental action. Ensure that these campaigns are not just a fad; campaigns should carry a serious message across very firmly.

Conclusion

If you are wondering whether green marketing is worth it, you would be surprised to know that, as per a study by Nielsen, 90% of millennials said that they are willing to pay more for products that contain sustainable and environment-friendly ingredients.

Although going green means a higher cost at the advent, in the future, it is bound to generate higher rewards, as is the case with all renewable sources. Adapting to sustainable practices and shifting to green marketing is the need of the hour, as the climate is very real and is upon us. The summers are hotter, the sea levels are rising, glaciers are melting, and there have been frequent man-made disasters in the last decade.

Companies need to make this change today if they want to build a reputation for saving the environment through their sustainability. A step such as going paperless may seem minor and trivial, yet will pave the way for eco-friendly habits in the global citizens.

A noble example, as mentioned above, is in the digital payments field. Now, as the economies of the world are going cashless, digital payments are on the rise. This revolution has enabled us to move away from the traditional accounting-ledger systems that used to be tedious to manage and take care of.

OKCredit digitises transactions and documents payment for small business owners, diminishing the burden of maintaining paper account books - a giant leap towards green marketing.

Also Read:

1) How to start a business of eco-friendly & organic cleaning products?
2) How To Start An E-waste Recycling Business?
3) How Can Stock Summary Reports Optimise Inventory Management?
4) How Safe and Secure is Online Software?

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FAQs

Q. Why is green marketing popular?

Ans. Green marketing helps companies strengthen their resolve towards the betterment of the environment and reduce carbon footprint.

Q. What are the problems of green marketing?

Ans. Green marketing may require sustainable and recyclable resources that are expensive to manufacture. There is also a lack of awareness in the market that may often lead to false advertising and taking advantage of customers in the name of green.

Q. How do you do green marketing?

• Using eco-friendly materials for printing brochures, flyers, shopping bags, packaging
• Digital marketing and advertising
• Stringent recycling policies
• Local shipping methods
• eDocumentation and accounting

Q. What is the main objective of green marketing?

Ans. The main objective of green marketing is to reduce the impact traditional marketing methods have on the environment.