Marketing your brand in this competitive environment is easier said than done as every one of your competitors are battling it out to go viral, and gain the most returns from their promotional plans.
Consumers are scrutinizing which brands they bring their business to, especially with business values becoming an important factor in maintaining customer loyalty.
Nowadays, sustainability is at the peak of marketing operations, with many companies opting for greener alternatives to the traditional gas-guzzling promotions, wasteful packaging, and trivial promotional products that simply don’t make the cut for being environmentally friendly. Consumers are calling on businesses to switch to eco-friendly alternatives.
While you can’t change your product line freely, you can still practice sustainable business operations through your marketing efforts, and promotional plans. In this article, we’ll present to you ideas on how you can integrate sustainability into your promotional plans!
1. Add promotional products to your marketing mix.
Promotional products are not only effective, they can be customized as well to bring brand recognition to your business. By associating your business with promotional products, you are ingraining your brand into the minds of your consumers, effectively bringing awareness to your company and offerings.
To make your promotional products sustainable, opt for practical promotional products instead of trinkets and novelty items. Go for personalized products like custom label water bottles, umbrellas, and tote bags that are both sustainable and practical.
Opt for promotional products that make use of environmentally friendly materials, such as canvas cloth, recycled plastic, and aluminum bottles to increase your level of sustainability. Incorporating these materials into your brand image helps to give your company an eco-friendly face, as well as contribute to the betterment of the environment.
2. Focus on your product, and market it.
While you may not freely change your product, you can focus on how you market your products and services to be more sustainable. Sustainable marketing includes going paperless – marketing your products online, or using less resources in your marketing campaigns.
Alternatively, you can take inspiration from your product to provide the public with a green alternative to your offerings. For instance, you may come up with a meatless option for your otherwise carnivorous menu, or provide your product in a sustainable container instead of the usual disposable plastic ones. Regardless of your business, you can always improve on your product.
3. Switch to eco-friendly packaging alternatives.
Packaging is essentially a waste as consumers would simply throw away packaging when they receive their products. These plastic, bleached paper, and PET packaging would often end up in landfills, and litter the environment with toxic chemicals they leach into the soil.
Knowing that these packaging materials would make their way into the environment, opt instead for eco-friendly packaging alternatives that would pose no harm or threat to wildlife, soil, or plant life. From sugarcane packaging to aluminum water bottles, these materials are biodegradable, and help cut down on your carbon footprint.
4. Integrate sustainability in your workplace.
Integrating sustainability in your workplace is one key way to go green in your business. By creating a sustainable workplace in the office, you are setting an example for your employees to value eco-friendly products, ideas, and systems.
Incorporating sustainability in the workplace may include using alternative forms of energy, going paperless, and having a proper waste management system that includes recycling. Presenting your business this way projects a feel of eco-friendliness to your employees and consumers, ensuring that your business makes a positive impact on the environment.
5. Create efficient operating channels.
Day-to-day business operations are what need the most improvement in terms of sustainability. Create energy-efficient channels in your distribution chain, manufacturing line, and eCommerce shop to generate the least amount of energy waste as possible.
Companies can minimize their delivery lines by partnering with local businesses for materials and supplies, while they can also maximize their manufacturing line by streamlining their operational processes to optimize their resources.
Not only will this create sustainable business practices, but consumers are more inclined to purchase from businesses that they know make efforts to minimize their carbon footprint, rather than ones that make no effort to go green. Creating efficient operating channels contributes to your business promotions!
Read more:
5 Timeless Promotional Plans that Value Sustainability
