We're in the midst of a green revolution, right? Actually, no.
Despite the green-branding of products from grocery bags to toilet paper, most consumers are unwilling to pay extra or make sacrifices to be more environmentally friendly.
Today's green marketing realities fly in the face of conventional marketing wisdom. The fact is people don't buy products. They buy solutions to problems. But since most consumers don't see the environment as a problem, green marketers must take an extra step, helping them not just to understand the problem, but to actually care about it. Here why.
A recent study by Arcus found that 45% of Canadian consumers feel "highly concerned" about environmental issues, but only 26% feel highly knowledgeable about environmental issues. And only 24% feel they can make a difference when it comes to the environment. Those passionate about the environment tend to have higher incomes and are more likely to live in larger cities. Marketers like to think that consumers have an excellent grasp of issues related to the environment and hence focus on more sophisticated green campaigns. But most people understand it as an abstract issue.
The Arcus study also found that only 17 percent of Canadians are passionate about environmental issues—while 24 percent have virtually no interest. For most companies, green products represent only a "niche" opportunity. Yet, they are investing heavily in "green" marketing campaigns- a puzzling development.
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A lot of the publicity surrounding green makes it sound like a mainstream concern. It's not. In fact, green behaviours are things people tend to do when it can save them time and money, like turning out the lights when they leave the room or buying quick absorbing paper towels. People tend to buy products with Energy Star ratings, for instance, because it saves them money. If you come out with a hybrid car, maybe you should talk about saving money on gas instead. If you offer environmentally friendly building materials, talk about long term energy savings. Concern for the environment needs to intersect with concern for shoppers wallets.
The traditional marketing model is for you to change attitudes in order to change behaviour. But you might be able to change behaviour with the current trend without changing attitudes, as opposed to the tree-hugger route, where you're preaching an environmental message. A big insight is that if you want people to act greener, it's better to talk to them about saving money and health concerns, not about saving the environment. It's not just about green products; it could be about green manufacturing.
The industries most likely to be affected are home builders, autos and consumer packaged goods. More affected are those products with high purchase frequencies and where green intersects with wellness. Actions by financial services companies are largely of low interest. Most grocery retailers are not making a big push. The ratio of packaging made of plastic to that made of paper on shelves is rising even though retail advertising encourages use of multi-use shopping bags. In markets where plastic and paper compete as packaging materials, plastic is expected to increase its market share to 53 percent by 2010. The fashion industry is at the bottom of the list, unless you tag lifestyle concerns.
Even if the percentage of Canadians who are passionate about the environment is fairly low, the subset is a pretty desirable group of consumers. And that's got to be likely to grow. As for the 17 percent, they really, really care. They think that paying more is the right price. And 17 percent is a good strong part of the consumer market. I believe the 17 percent will continue to grow and will draw people. The core group is unlikely to double over next decade, not without some fundamental change that makes the environment felt at a personal level. It competes with other issues— healthcare, infrastructure and crime. The environment has just not crossed that threshold yet.
So what should companies and their marketing people do? Try to generate more enthusiasm for green products? Or just cater to consumer tastes as they are? Consumer marketers would rather follow consumer attitudes than lead them. They're very loath to try and teach people something new. But with the environment, that's what they're going have to do. Environmental advocacy groups are more likely to be considered to be objective sources by consumers, not company information. This is an opportunity in the marketplace. Consumers need to be provided more objective sources for information on green technologies and products. Maybe a search resource for healthy products and services would help.
