How to Develop a Brand That Resonates with Eco-friendly Customers

There are many benefits to trying to appeal to customers who are very conscious of issues with the environment. If you've chosen this as an approach, there are ways to make sure your message resonates with the ecologically-focused over other demographics. Here are a few examples.

Create a Transparent Brand

If you do everything you can to make it seem like your brand is transparent about its practices, this will go a long way to resonating with the Eco-friendly all by itself. The climate-conscious crowd has been burned a lot by companies lying to them. Starting by being upfront about how your company does difference will be a breath of fresh air to the consumers whose business you want.

Obviously, this doesn't mean that you can then go ahead and tell them that you pump a huge amount of carbon into the atmosphere, you do have to actually have practices that they view as positive. This is actually a good policy in general, considering that 74% say they'd be willing to pay more for products from a transparent company, and 94% say they are more likely to be loyal to a transparent brand, according to one study.

Few companies are perfect when it comes to reducing carbon footprint or maximising energy efficiency. If your company is still struggling to be as perfect as you can be, owning up to it can be an excellent branding message all on its own. You can even turn this into soliciting their help in making a greener planet.

Be Vocal About Your Green Certifications

The eco-friendly love to have proof that your brand is actually putting real effort toward a sustainable future. One solid way to demonstrate that you are trying to be as climate-conscious as they are is to show off these certifications.

Alternatively, you can go and get some if you don't have any yet. They may take less effort than you might imagine. You could get the building you use LEED-certified, for example. You could get the Fair Trade certification or an organic one, obviously all depending upon your business.

There are many organisations and personalities you could get endorsements from. It helps just to contact them and ask what it would take. These are the sorts of things that eco-friendly consumers pay attention to, so if you want your messaging to appeal to them, being able to draw upon your certifications and endorsements can really help your cause.

Other related approaches can include amplifying messages from others within the eco-friendly world that many people listen to these days. This could include re-tweeting or re-posting them on Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere. That way, you can then add your brand messaging to the mix of whatever that person is saying.

Appeal to the Synergy of Consumer Interest and Eco-friendliness

It's obviously not always the case that what is in a consumer's best interest and what is good for the Earth come into alignment, but it does happen sometimes. If you can find areas where these causes come into alignment, it will really resonate with the eco-friendly since they are often being pulled between these two poles.

They want to do what's right and are able to sacrifice for it. They may even be proud of doing this when it's necessary. When reducing emissions that cause global warming is something they can do while also getting what they want as consumers, it really is ideal, however.

An example of a company that uses this kind of brand messaging and design is Ben and Jerry's. Their website on their values speaks about their "economic mission" for sustainable growth, their social mission to make the world a better place, and their product mission to make great ice cream for its own sake.

Their brand messaging is all about acting in a way that maximises all three of those missions at once. The easiest way to do this is to include it directly in a mission statement or "about us" page. In general, people read these more often than you might think. It's often been stated to be the second most read page after the landing page for a company website. The eco-conscious are likely going to care about this even more.

Be Consistent with Practices and Partnerships

Your messaging and branding will be affected by everything you do. If you tout your company as being Eco-friendly due to your certifications and low-energy practices, but then make a partnership with a company that's known for being a big polluter or ignoring the need for sustainability, the Green crowd is going to call you out on it.

Instead, it helps if you find partnerships with various green non-profits. They will appreciate the help your providing, and it will bring you free publicity and goodwill from your Green consumers. Everything you say to them will resonate more if they know your company's reputation and partnerships.

It will then make it easier to create branding messages that claim that your company is aligned with saving the planet if you can state why you're proud to support particular organisations.

Summing Up

There are many ways to focus on a green brand. You can make sure you use eco-friendly material in your business, for example. This might include something biodegradable in your packaging. Many companies use special materials that look like Styrofoam but that dissolve in water. Mentioning this can help your branding too.

You can make sure all parts of your boxing materials are sustainable and that you don't just give up at the end and shrink wrap everything.

For more information about creating a brand that resonates with those conscious of global warming or any other demographic, please make sure that you don't hesitate to go ahead and contact us today. The quicker you contact us, the quicker we can get started helping you to achieve your short and long-term goals. This could include having the right kind of messaging to appeal to your consumers and grow your business.