Take heart green-preneurs, there’s a green light ahead.  According to a recent Advertising Age headline, “Green-Marketing Revolution Defies Economic Downturn: Sustainable-Product Sales Rise as Eco-friendliness Goes Mainstream and Value Players Join the Trend.”  That’s proof that even in a harsh economy; healthier, smarter and safer products have meaning to consumers.  That’s not just because consumers have more planet consciousness, that’s because they have more personal involvement.  They want products that are better for themselves and their families — and the planet too.

That’s the true green message that wants to be told. Organic food equals better food, tastier food, fresher food.  Eco- cleaning products are safer for your kids and home.  Zero VOC paints are not only beautiful to look at but beautiful to live with. They don’t off-gas toxins into your inner environment.  In the time of Swine flu, e-coli hamburgers and scary peanut butter, green products need to make the case that they’re better products. 

For instance, for a solar client we recommended as their company tag line, “We Bring Solar Down To Earth.”  That said two things.  Number one, they harnessed the sun.  Number two and even more important, they have made solar practical, economical, every day and something for everyone, not just off-the-gridders.

What does that mean to you?  Simple. Get relevant.  Communicate your reason for being. What you do and what you do better. Make your case personal and close-in. When you’ve educated all of us in simple, down-to-earth terms, than you create a relationship not just a customer.  You’ve done something for them, instead of just selling something to them.

What are you doing to get relevant?  We want to know.  Really.

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The green consumer is a thinking consumer.   They think about their values every time they make a purchase.  It’s not just their emotions that drive them; it’s their intelligence as well.   Because of this, it makes sense to tell a thinking consumer something that makes them think and something that makes sense. 

It’s important to educate them with the logical part of being ecological.   Of course, it’s important to appeal to their sense of honor and caring.  But it’s equally important to appeal to their sense of savings. 

You can’t just tell them that you’re saving the planet one light bulb at a time.   They’re too smart for that.   We’ve found that consumers relate best to issues they feel they can actually have an impact on and ones that have an immediate impact on them. 

The rapidly increasing sales of Hybrids in today’s marketplace will increasingly be driven by the prices at the pump, not just the softer footprint on the earth.   A poll by the Associated Press in June 2007 stated 46 % of Americans said soaring gasoline prices would cause them “serious hardship” and 66 % said they planned to reduce driving.  And a whopping 47% said they have plans to buy a new fuel-efficient car.  Economy meets ecology.

It really is a circle of savings that does good for everyone.  The economic saving in the green world can often be as important as the ecological savings.  And that’s a message every shade of green can understand and relate to.   Those of us in the green communications world need to open up our approaches to marketing green products.  The more mainstream we make our messages, the less lofty the promises, the wider the audience there is to listen and respond. 

After all, that’s what we really want to accomplish, isn’t it?  Getting more green goods into the world for the good of all.   And that’s something we can all profit from.

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There’s one thing you need to know about the green consumer.  They want to know.

According to the Roper Green Gauge, over 50% reported they would do more if they only knew what and how.  So moving your communications to educate and inform can do a lot to grow your green business.  

While representing an eco-friendly paint company, we raised the issues of indoor air pollution which is caused in part by the out-gassing of toxins in conventional paints, stains and cleaning products.   We built into their quarterly consumer catalog an educational component called “Did You Know?”   Sprinkled throughout the pages were various statistics that enlightened consumers.

For instance, using EPA statistics, we informed them that “indoor air pollution is two to twenty times worse than outdoor air pollution even in a heavily industrialized city.”    A few pages later, a statistic from Scientific American stated, “A baby crawling on a conventional carpet inhales the equivalent of four cigarettes a day.” 

These eye-opening facts broadened their audience considerably, bringing many mainstream people into their consumer base who now understood the close-to-home benefits of their products.  Then we launched the branding line for their non-toxic paints, “Beauty without the Beast.”   We struck the balance between the reasons people buy their products:  To beautify their homes AND avoid unnecessary toxins – the real reason for that “just painted smell.” 

Most of us trust the marketplace to bring us products that are safe, useful and effective.   Consumers have not trained themselves nor felt the need to examine everything that’s out there before they purchase.   But that’s beginning to change.  

The thousands of recalls of everything from children’s toys to chopped meat are beginning to wake up and energize a more informed consumer.   They’re demanding to know more before they buy and that has profound implications for marketers.  

You  can build a viable base by telling an educational story.   By informing how your product or service does the job well and helps the environment at the same time.   That way the message is not just about saving the planet out there but improving their life right here.  

No one, whether they’re an environmentally-conscious consumer or not, wants to bring unnecessary toxins into their homes, or buy unsafe toys, or use potentially harmful products.  They just didn’t  know they were.  

When you educate, you marry emotion to intellect, the heart to the head, the planet to the person.  The more you educate your customer, the more you build trust.  The more you build trust, the more likely you are to win their business. 

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