So many of my clients have been asking the same question: What is happening with the green movement in light of the recession? Are consumers just concerned about price now and the planet has to sort it out for itself? etc.
Here’s my take on this:
-Green is ubiquitous enough that price point is manageable for many mainstream products and consumers don’t feel like they have to trade up or “pay to play” in the green space.
-Green products that can prove their value will win- CFLs. I have long thought that Walmart blew it a few years back when they told the (PR) world they would have all of their customer buying at least 1 CFL and what a difference it would make. What they missed was the communication of the value of the CFL, their value spin that attract their customers in the first place. The amortization of the CFL was the key message and oh yes, the planetary benefit was secondary if not third (quality of light might have been 2nd). Walmart consumers, especially 3 years ago, were not ready to put the planet first and likely still aren’t.
-Green processes to make products often make the consumer feel like the company they are doing business with is doing smart business. Waste is a huge concern right now for consumers- waste of money, waste of time and waste in its most literal form (which seems to be packaging often with consumers). So, when a company is more energy efficient in their product processes that may seem like an internal win but consumers do actually care and even calculate that they may be receiving savings (in the form of price) and transitive green action (in the form of doing business with a green company makes them feel greener).
-On the packaging front- consumers don’t want to feel stranded with the package. Oh yes, that the package was made with “post consumer waste” (what?) or from recycled packaging is nice, but consumers just want to know: “Now what do I do?”- they want to feel supported and even lead by the company towards greener behaviors without much work. The number inside of the recycled sign is not enough- the more instruction the better.
Just a few thoughts I thought might be worth sharing.
