Selling Green

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MARKETING A BUSINESS AS GREEN
REQUIRES A BLEND OF T R A N S P A R E N C Y , PRACTICALITY AND SAVVY, HERE IS EMTREPRENEUIfS F I V E - S T E P G U I D E T O H O W T O D O I T R I G H T , BY MATT VILLANO

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n the world of marketing, green is the new black. Have a recycling program? That's green. Use LED light bulbs? That's green, too. Heck, if you go so far as to encourage employees to carpool to work, you

might as well be able to say your business is green. And yet, green marketing—that is, successful green marketing—isn't nearly as easy as it seems. It turns out there's more to ecoconsciousness than simply being

conscious of the environment. We asked a number of entrepreneurs and experts for insights on the components of green marketing that works. The gist: Green only yields green when messaging blends transparency, practicality and savvy.

52 Entrepreneur//November 20 J1

I I "V escribing something as I I 1 "green" can be dicey, since the I Ë •^ word often means different arketing your business as I things to different people. green is a great idea—proI In one instance, it could summarize vided your customers are into I an off-the-grid production facility that sort of thing. Executives at BardesI powered by solar energy. In other sono, a luxury hotel and spa in YountI cases, it could signify the existence of ville, Calif., learned this the hard way. I a telecommuting program that helps When the é2-room property opened I reduce a carbon footprint. in 2009, executives trumpeted the I Jenny Grayson, a Los Angeles-based hotel's Platinum status from the LeadI consultant who helps companies go ership in Energy and Environmental I green, says it behooves companies to Design (LEED) program—the resort I be totally honest and to define exactly was one of only two such honored I what "green" means to them. hotels in the U.S. While the facility I "Everyone right now, from Clorox was a hit among environmentalists and I to Huggies, is marketing themselves green-obsessed journalists, it struggled I as 'natural,' but what does that really with perhaps its most important group I mean?" she asks. "Environmentally of constituents: customers. I savvy consumers can become quickly The problem? Travelers accustomed I disillusioned with a company when to the luxury hotel experience perceived I it doesn't live up to its eco-friendly I claims," or when it doesn't explain how IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMIIIIIIII iiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiDiiiiiiiiiiKiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiniini "I it's eco-friendly in the first place. I Personal explanations usually work I best. Ava Anderson Non-Toxic, a perI sonal-care-product manufacturer (and ^ Êk ^ hile marketing I one of Entrepreneur's "Entrepreneur of Apparently, greenwashing is get% M\ M your company as 12011" award winners), explains on the ting worse. According to the 2010 % ^ % ^ green has undisI company website how its founder, as a Greenwashing Report from the %# \ M puted benefits, TerraChoice Group, an environmental 114-year-old girl, became disillusioned W W misrepresenting I with chemicals in beauty products due marketing agency based in Ottawa, one's greenness—a process known as I to their hazardous health effects. Ontario, more than 95 percent of all "greenwashing"—can be disastrous to I Bill and Jane Monetti offer similarly consumer products claiming to be a company's credibility. I personal insights on the website for green were found to commit at least ConAgra, the food product comone of the "Seven Sins of Greenwash- I their company, Eco-Command, which pany, is facing a class-action lawsuit ing," which include not providing evi- I produces GoFlushless, a spray that for labeling its cooking oils as "natuI neutralizes the odor of urine and reduces dence, being vague or flat-out lying. ral," even though they're made with I the need to flush a toilet. The Monettis The best way to avoid these genetically modified ingredients. I detail how the product was born out of claims, according to Shel Horowitz, Then there's Sigg. The SwitzerlandCEO of Greenandprofitable.com, is to I necessity when they purchased a home based reusable-bottle manufacturer I in the environmentally sensitive area of keep messages consistent and suptold its customers that its I Maryland's Eastern Shore. port every claim with inconproducts were BPA-free, even I "Along with our new home, we actrovertible evidence. though the bottles contained "Transparency and honesty I quired a well, septic tank, drainage field the chemical in their liners. is the best approach," he says. I and an extreme awareness of every drop When news of this hit the I of water we use," they write. With this, \ "If you're accused of greenmainstream media, sales *^ washing and there's some stick I it's easy to understand the company misdropped precipitously. • "is to it at all, you're dead." —M.V. I sion of "saving watei^ saving energy."

WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT

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green to mean "sparse" and "uncomfortable" and booked elsewhere. "Our messaging was great for occupancy but not so good for the average daily rate," says Jim Treadway, the hotel's general manager. "We had lost sight of the fact that our core customers value a luxury experience above all else." Naturally, in 2010 Bardessono changed its tune, tweaking marketing messages to emphasize luxuryfirstand green second. Almost overnight, bookings—at full price, mind you—soared. The lesson: Never assume everybody will love you just because you're green. "It took us a while to realize the best message for our customers was, 'We're a world-class hotel and, oh yeah, we're green,'" Treadway says. "That might not be intuitive, but when you consider that your customers are the top priority, targeting your messages to their lifestyle certainly makes sense."

• DEFINE IWHAT IGREEN IMEANS (TOYOU

BEWARE OF 'GREENWASHING'

Entrepreneur//November 2011 53

CONNECT THE DOTS
o matter how well a company defines green, being green alone is not enough—there has to be some substance behind the messaging to make it work. Park Howell, president of Park&Co, a sustainable marketing firm in Phoenix, says that in the current economy, emphasizing how people can save their green by going green is the most effective approach. "In these overwhelming efforts to come across as eco-friendly, most

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small businesses taking their products to market miss the most important differentiators: quality and price," he says. "Something that's good for the planet is nice, but in this day and age, the masses simply don't care about it as much." Howell contends that the best green marketing campaigns address the "three Ps" of profit, people and planet, effectively answering consumers' questions in the following order: • Is it good for my budget? • Is it good for my family? • Is it good for the planet? Howell adds that in most cases, green campaigns should avoid the word green and avoid incorporating green leaves into a logo. "Really, these tactics are just camouflaging a brand differentiator," he says. "Finding another way to tell your story will always end up delivering a targeted message to the people you want to reach."

•PRACTICE I WHAT YOU ¡PREACH
I "¥" n an age when just about anyone I I can find out just about anything I A about the inner workings of I a company online, transparency is I key. For this reason, it's important I for companies that market themselves I as green to operate sustainably in I many of their day-to-day operations. At Green Apple Cleaners, a nonI toxic dry cleaning business in New I York City, this has meant no print I advertisements whatsoever, steering I away from the traditional approach I within the industry. Instead, founder I and CFO David Kistner has opted I for virtual (and therefore paperless) I services such as Groupon and Google I Offers to bring in new customers. I "Could you imagine if one of our ¡coupons came in the mail?" he says, I assuming eco-conscious customers I wouldn't remain patrons for long. I Other businesses have opted for I different strategies. At Fco-Command, I owners Bill and Jane Monetti have I installed in their home water-efficient I shower heads, aerators for sink fixI tures and an Energy Star clothes washI er. GreenChoice Bank, a green-themed I bank in Chicago, issues debit cards I with a 100 percent recycled plastic I core and boasts electric car chargers in I all of its bank parking lots. I Consultant Shel Horowitz, author I of Guerilla Marketing Goes Green, I says it doesn't matter how a company I embraces eco-consciousness, so long as I it does so on some quantifiable level. I "You need to walk the walk to I some extent," he says. "The minute a I customer calls credibility into quesI tion, that customer will start shopping I somewhere else."

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DO CUSTOMERS CARE?
^ A ^ ith businesses in % m\ Ê just about every % ^ % ^ industry vying to %^ \m market thennselves W W as green, it's natural to ask: To what extent do customers care? The answer depends on where you look. Some data indicates that increasing numbers of Americans are seeking out green products; According to the Organic Trade Association, organic food sales have grown about 20 percent per year over the last decade. What's more, Wal-Mart, that mass-market juggernaut, is now the world's largest buyer of organic cotton. Still, when most companies gauge customers about what matters most to them, answers such as "greenness" or sustainability frequently come in behind key issues such as usefulness and price. Saul Kliorys, environmental programs manager for Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, has
54 Entrepreneur//November 2011

taken surveys of this nature, and says green is always near the top but never finishes first. "On the whole," he says, "greenness doesn't sell products; products sell products." Still, to be fair, certain demographics appear to be more concerned than others with whether products are, in fact, green. Women, for instance, account for a majority of household spending, and many may be worrying about the chemicals in their kids' shampoo, or might be trying to avoid purchasing genetically modified food at the grocery store. The bottom line: Green likely isn't the sole factor determining customer behaviors in today's economy, but it undoubtedly is one of the few. "Customers want good-performing products at prices they can afford that are healthy for their families and easy to get," says Park Howell, president of Park&Co, a sustainable marketing firm in Phoenix. "If a product has met all of those considerations and it's green, that's even better" —M.V.

Jennifer Kaplan is a partner in green marketing firm Greenhance and the author of Greening Your Small Business. She is also an entrepreneur in her own right, having recently founded VineCrowd.com, a website designed to connect artisanal, independent wineries with consumers to buy, sell, discuss, compare and share. Kaplan compiled this ranking of green marketing innovators from the past decade for the Green Marketing and Communications class she teaches at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
I • Tide Coldwater Challenge This landmark 2005 marketing campaign addressed the money saved by washing in cold water and the product's deep cleaning and whitening abilities, making green the ancillary benefit. The far-reaching campaign included nationa advertising, in-store programs, product sampling, a strong Internet presence, consumer promotions and strategic alliances. • • • Jamie Oliver The outspoken English chef and advocate of healthy food is a brand in and unto himself. He uses "disruptive media and public visibility" to communicate and motivate, creating a new kind of "infotainment." O a Diesel Clothing: Global Warming Ready In print ads promoting its 2007 spring/summer collection, the Italian clothing company depicted landscapes transformed by environmental disaster. The campaign proved that green marketing and tongue-in-cheek humorwhen done well—resonate with young audiences. GE Ecomagination A massive 2008 multimedia campaign for Ecomagination established GE's green position in a competitive marketplace where credibility and believability are paramount to success.
56 Entrepreneur // November 2011

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REINVEST IN THE COMMUNITY
ne of the most important attributes of sustainabiHty is reinvesting dollars and energy into the surrounding community. It's a simple step—but it's also an initiative many green companies overlook. Reinvesting in the community can take many forms. GreenChoice Bank offers flexible loan terms to commercial clients who build sustainably. Ben & Jerry's, one of the first green companies, continues to donate significant money to nonprofits more than a decade after it was purchased by Unilever. Great Lakes Brewing Company, a brewery in downtown Clevehi dovvntt)wn t.,lLM;l,inü. d Liikes Brewing Compan land, has taken a invests in the communia different approach: sourcing ktcal ingrcdic It sources locally. All told, the brewery's restaurant uses local vegetables and herbs in dishes whenever seasonally available, as well as local eggs, milk, cream, butter and locally raised meats. Saul Kliorys, the company's environmental programs manager, says the brewery has gone so far as to manage and till part of the 16-acre Ohio City Farm in Cleveland, growing many of the herbs and vegetables itself. "Why source from elsewhere when we can get what we need right here?" Kliorys says. "Being green isn't always about making the best choices for the planet at large; sometimes it's about making the best choices for the people in your own backyard, too." t MATT VILLANO IS A FREELANCE WRITER AND EDITOR BASED IN HEALDSBURG. CALIF.

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number of protective rubber shoes to kids in Ethiopia. The company exceeded its goal by 23 percent and raised unprecedented awareness for its cause—all without paid media. / • Toyota Prius: Harmony This 2009 multimedia campaign showed how the Prius delivers extra power, space, safety, advanced technology and superior gas mileage.

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8. Timberiand: Pa
Earthkeepers This 2009 global campaign showcased the Earthkeepers collection of eco-friendly apparel and included TV, print and retail ads, as well as social media and a microsite that used 3D technology. 9 a Method: Just Say No to Jugs This cheeky 2010 campaign is typical of Method's marketing, mocking mainstream cleaning products as feeding a household's "jug" habit. The campaign relied only on print and oniine ads. BMW Diesel: Ch-ch-changes This 20n campaign launched at Super Bowl XLV, communicated valuable information and a relevant message to the American audience about the environmental benefits of and changes in diesel technology.

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The resulting creative was simple, beautiful and compelling and delivered the message in engaging ways. 5 i HSBC: There's No Small Change A highly successful 2008 print campaign elevated HSBC's environmental credentials and consolidated the bank's environmental leadership position—all without TV or radio. O > TOMS Shoes: Project Holiday For the month of December 2008, TOMS promoted its Project Holiday campaign to sell 30.000 pairs of shoes so it could give the same

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