Everywhere you turn, there’s talk about the environment and how businesses need to minimise their impact on planet Earth.
Even small to medium-size businesses can make a difference to the environment while creating a competitive advantage in their market place.
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Green marketing refers to the process of selling your products or services based on their environmental benefits.
The solution itself may be environmentally friendly, or it may be manufactured and packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
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The obvious assumption is that potential consumers will view a product or service’s “greenness” as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. The sticking point is whether consumers will be willing to pay more for those products.
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While green marketing is growing greatly as increasing numbers of consumers are willing to back their environmental consciences with their rands, it can be detrimental to the brand if it is found guilty of greenwashing. This is when an environmentally-friendly claim is discovered to be false.
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Green marketing can even be taken a step further, and instead of focussing on the product or solution, be extended to use only online marketing communication to save on paper, or the use of recycled paper for all printed marketing collateral.