Green Marketing

Green Marketing
Green marketing is promoting environmental advantages through a company’s product; it can be internal dealing with employees and the organization with the external factor dealing with customers. Green marketing is taking off due to much interest from customers; since knowledge of our environment is being observed. Especially with knowledge from the media stating that something needs to be done in order to protect our environment from increasing numbers in pollution and air quality. Green marketing started to grab attention in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, but it was mentioned sometime before then. Polonsky (1994) stated that, “The American Marketing Association (AMA) held the first workshop on ‘Ecological Marketing’ in 1975.” (p. 1) Many people now look for companies that support going green and the environment as a whole. So many businesses have decided to modify their behaviors to be able to join the new concerns from society. The purpose of marketing is to inform customers on what they want or needs to be done to sway them to purchase a product. To be effective in marketing you must communicate to your customer the benefits of your product. Going green is a method used to drive brand loyalty and sustainability for a company in which its customers are concerned with the environment and sustainability of the company. For some companies green marketing messages does not best suit them; if their customers do not care about the environment or sustainability of the company, a message would not push brand loyalty and purchases. From the aspect of a company, if sustainability is important to them they should not shy away. According to a 2009 January/February study by the American Marketing Association, “More than half of corporate marketers believe that their organizations will increase their involvement in environmental sustainability over the next two to three years, and 43% say their companies will increase marketing of these programs.” Do to these findings; Corporate America will see an increase on going green put on shelves for retail purchases.
Successful marketing is all based upon the customer so if eco-friendly products are important to them green marketing will be beneficial. As a company you may not be sure if your customers are interested in sustainability and environmental factors, but you will never know until you ask them. Bringing such attention to your customer base will at least satisfy them in the way that you are concerned and appreciate their feedback. Green marketing is not just all about the consumer’s responsibilities. Many companies feel the moral and correct ethical pressures to be more socially responsible. Also, government officials are beginning to require companies to be more responsible when it comes to the impact they can have on the environment. One more concern from companies is a scare factor they may receive from competitors that are starting to catch on with going green, which forces them to obtain the competitive advantage.
Advantages
Going green can say a lot about a company; it is not only good for the environment but makes business sense. It can let consumers know that you, as a business, care about the consumer’s environment. Being socially responsible is one factor to consider while going green. Businesses are a part of the community and should be aware of their behavior that affects environmental factors. Within a firm you should not only be aware of bottom line profits. With the growing knowledge that something needs to be done about the environment consumers will be urged to learn more about businesses going green; bringing in clientele for the business. As going green gains more popularity customers are considering environmental issues before making purchasing decisions. Consumers are now aware that they can make a difference in sustainability for the environment little by little. Green marketing will benefit these types of concerns from consumers. Many states, counties, and cities are implementing Environmentally Preferable Purchasing programs making it a smart choice to jump on the bandwagon now. EEP builds on top of the traditional product designs attributes price, performance, and safety by adding environment and health considerations. The traditional attributes maintain consistency with traditional purchasing factors. The added characteristic environment maximizes beneficial environmental attributes while the health added characteristic minimizes adverse health effects. Pressure from the government is making going green a wide spread alternative. Some companies may not be too concerned with the protection of consumers and society but the government will be sure this is regulated. The way the government regulates this is by reducing the production of harmful products, paying attention to the consumption of harmful products by consumers, and that all consumers be aware of what eco-friendliness can do for sustainability.
Competition is always being noticed and researched very often by companies usually every period, every quarter, etc. Sometimes competitive pressure can cause industries to completely change because of one company within the industry to consider green marketing and eco-friendliness. It is likely that if one company makes a more environment cautious decision others will follow up. It is important in going green marketing to make a public announcement to explain new policies and procedures that the company will follow to ensure consumers your act of seriousness. There are many ways for a business to let its customers know that they encourage an eco-friendly environment. A business that produces, then packages their products should use eco-friendly packaging since so much biodegradable products are sitting in landfills. This action will allow the consumer to see just how committed your company is to going green. Through an advertising program the business can use the eco-friendly packaging as a selling point to customers that value sustainability. You can simply let a consumer know on your packaging that you are eco-friendly with some kind of stamp or logo. Using a logo such as trees, recycling bins, and planet Earth will not have as a great of affect as a logo you can come up with yourself. The old logos no longer generate emotions and awareness for customers. Whenever a customer realizes they are purchasing an eco-friendly product it will make customers feel proud of their purchase and also proud of the fact they are benefiting the environment at the same time. Your public announcement is important for your competitive advantage. There have been many companies that have reduced the amount of plastic used in bottling and some that have extensive waste management programs but do not make them a public announcement leaving consumers unaware of their affect they have on the environment.
Disadvantages
Green marketing can be a hard demographic to tap into which is worrisome since successful marketing is customer-centric. When it comes to the demographics for green marketing it is a difficult target market and trend. Some companies will not adjust to this new demographic. According to Ryan (2006): The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) offers some broad generalizations regarding the demographic characteristics of green consumers: Many are young adults, influenced by their young children; Women are a key target market. They often make purchases on behalf of men; The best green customers are those with money to spend (good prospects for businesses at the high end of the market); Consumers born before 1950 are the least green.
While discussing advantages to green marketing we mention being socially responsible. While this may seem like an advantage it can lead do disadvantages. You must take into consideration as to what may seem eco-friendly today may not be the case tomorrow or in the future. As more studies are conducted of alternate eco-friendly production methods we find that more information is obtained on that new alternative in which some cases can be just as environmentally harmful. You may be giving into consumer pressure but you have chosen a harmful option or alternative.
You would never want to make false claims to your customers but it happens all the time. When a company lies or makes false claims about going green this can be known as “greenwashing”. The press is always on the heels of any business that makes false claims about just how green they really are. Greenwashing is a way for a company to trick its customers into thinking they are managing their ecological footprint. As a company you may never be misleading about your activities in being eco-friendly. Companies can be claimed for “greenwashing” in several different ways. Most companies are known for “greenwashing” by making them seem more eco-friendly with false claims when really they are not. For instance any car company such as Ford or Chevrolet have hybrid vehicles which are good for the economy but they still continue as a company to produce many other vehicles without any fuel efficiency contributing to the downfall of the environment. Once the word gets out about the company “greenwashing” they can easily and quickly diminish their accreditation they have with any customer. Your company may not understand the complete advantage of going green. Some companies make claims on being more eco-friendly and this may be true today but not in the bigger picture. Some will try and find appropriate uses for their waste when really they should be minimizing it all together. End-of-pipe solutions can be accidental but still occur; for instance if the company is trying to increase profits by reducing costs they may not be concentrating on the importance of environmental degradation.
Consumers seem to be concerned about the price and performance of green products. It is widely known that most people think that green products cost more and may not perform as well either. Therefore, customers will not buy into something more expensive with no proven environmental benefit. So not only do you have a second guessing customer but you must now educate them on why they should pay the price premium. Companies that engage in green products sometimes have to go off-shore for materials that will cost the company and consumer more money. The availability for customers may also be slim and very few customers will go out of their way to purchase an eco-friendly product.

References
Go Green! Green Marketing. (n.d.). Go Green! Green Marketing. Retrieved February 27, 2013, from www.avsgroup.com/Resources/Articles/GreenMarketing.aspx
Polonsky, M. J. (1994). An Introduction to Green Marketing. Electronic Green Journal, 1(2)(3), 1-10. Retrieved February 27, 2013, from the Academic Search Premier database.
Ryan, B. (2006). Green Consumers: A growing Market for Many Local Businesses. Let 's Talk Business, 123, 1-8. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from the Academic Search Premier database.

References: Go Green! Green Marketing. (n.d.). Go Green! Green Marketing. Retrieved February 27, 2013, from www.avsgroup.com/Resources/Articles/GreenMarketing.aspx Polonsky, M. J. (1994). An Introduction to Green Marketing. Electronic Green Journal, 1(2)(3), 1-10. Retrieved February 27, 2013, from the Academic Search Premier database. Ryan, B. (2006). Green Consumers: A growing Market for Many Local Businesses. Let 's Talk Business, 123, 1-8. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from the Academic Search Premier database.