As a marketing gimmick, “Going Green” must be destroyed. People throw around buzzwords like they’re a good thing. Living in Minnesota, where mosquitoes could be the state bird, the term buzz doesn’t conjure up images of trendy hype. To me, buzzwords evoke fury caused by the thought of my three snow-free months being interrupted by blood-sucking pests.
Before I get pelted by tomatoes, organically grown of course, let me say I am 100% for more environmental ways of thinking and behaving. I subscribe to the ideology that if we have the capabilities to be more efficient and less wasteful, we should be.
Here’s my problem with green marketing. When the green movement first came out, things needed to be totally organic or reduce energy use significantly to be considered green. Now it feels as if any improved product gets positioned as green no matter how loose the interpretation. Is lead-free paint green because it’s less toxic? It may not be considered green right now, but standards continue to be watered down (and naturally filtered before they go back into the reservoir). Our vocabulary is on the brink of being polluted with a term that once meant growth through innovation, but is slowly becoming another cash crop for misguided marketers while clients foot the bill.
Now that the coast is clear and Fargo-Moorhead is high and dry from the flood fight, several companies are looking to help with the clean-up efforts. Naturally, these companies are trying to position their product or service any way they can and being green seems to be all the rage. In the last two weeks, Absolute Marketing Group has helped two companies that are at the forefront of their respective industries when it comes to the latest advances in earth-friendly technology. As a marketing professional, I had a dilemma. I could market by the book or simply say “We’re more green than you, nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah”. I chose the high road, not because it was the path of least resistance or because I could use the cardio (don’t worry this is the last green and healthy pun). I chose to go by the book because good products don’t need gimmicks.
It’s counter productive to play “who is more green?” The best way to market a natural product is to market it as any other product. Get back to basics. I spent time researching these eco-intelligent products, the science behind them and the consumer needs they could fill. For the two products we worked with these past few weeks, the fact that they were all natural wasn’t the primary benefit. Being blinded by the green phenomenon and marketing the products as eco-friendly would’ve been a cop-out. See for yourself. Look at these two sets of positioning statements and find the stronger statement.
Product #1: A dry-ice blasting and restoration service.
Statement A: Dry-ice cleaning uses frozen carbon dioxide to restore stained and damaged walls. Because carbon dioxide is all-natural, dry ice is 100% environmentally friendly. No product or service is greener.
Statement B: Dry-ice cleaning uses frozen carbon dioxide to restore stained and damaged surfaces. Because dry ice evaporates on contact, our method doesn’t leave any residue making it safe to clean anything, even electronics.
What’s more important to a customer, the fact that a product is 100% natural or that it can clean delicate areas that other products can’t?
Product #2: An air purification system that uses hydrogen and oxygen ions.
Statement A: Hydroxyls or HO- ions are Mother Nature’s best cleaning agent. HO- ions are abundant and aren’t toxic like chlorine. Choose the most natural clean around.
Statement B: Hydroxyls or HO- ions are Mother Nature’s s best cleaning agent. These ions cleave or separate odors and bacteria at the molecular level making hydroxyls safer and more effective chemicals like chlorine.
Again, the product is superior in its results. Being green is a nice bonus, but people don’t buy random products because they are good for the environment. People buy products because they have a need. Environmental benefits are merely ways of distinguishing between similar products. If something makes your product better, that’s the angle you should market – always.
By removing the green gimmick, true product benefits shine, needs are addressed and customers are informed. Buzzwords are trends, bound to wear themselves out. “Going green” is gangrenous to your brand. Market truth before you become infected with fleeting terminology.