Even though times are tough, consumers are still thinking about the environment when they go to the store. According to a report by consumer behavior specialists The Hartman Group, Sustainability: The Rise of Consumer Responsibility, more than 75% of consumers “consider environment and social aspects at times in making purchase decisions and one-third are willing to pay more for that benefit.”
“During these tough economic times, sustainable products create that ‘sweet spot’ that make consumers more optimistic about the choices they are making,” said Alison Worthington, Hartman Group Managing Director of Sustainability. “In many ways, the term sustainability has become synonymous with responsibility for consumers or just ‘doing the right thing’.”
The online survey consisted of 1,856 respondents September 19 – 24, 2008, at the onset of the recession.
Consumers Consider Themselves Green, but Many Can’t Name a Green Product
According to the report, 88% of consumers consider themselves to partake in sustainable behaviors. About 37% of consumers believe that their purchase decisions matter as much as their votes (45%). Only 56% were familiar with the term “sustainability” up from 54% in 2007.
But despite these great numbers, only 25% of consumers could actually name a sustainable product. Worthington noted that this lack of knowledge is a great opportunity for companies to get their messages out.
A Green Reputation is Key
According to the 2009 National Green Buying survey by Green Seal and EnviroMedia Social Marketing, half of consumers are buying just as many green products now as they did before the recession started. When asked what influenced their green purchasing decisions, 21% said a product’s reputation mattered most, followed by word of mouth (19%) and brand loyalty (15%).
About one in three said that they don’t know how to tell if the ad claims of a product being green are true, while one in 10 people said that trust green product claims no matter what.
To find out the truth in the advertising, 24% said they read packaging to understand the green claims and 17% research online or look at studies.
Marketers Must Focus on Educating Consumers and Branding
These two studies show that consumers want to jump on the green bandwagon, and in fact, many have one foot in. Consumers want to learn more about being green, and marketing that focuses on educating customers, whether on product packaging or on company Web sites, will likely win more customers. If a customer feels that the company is teaching something about being green to them, the customer will be more apt to buy.
Marketers must also focus on green branding and getting the word out to foster a green reputation. In these hard times, loyalty to green brands could be just what keeps your company from going in the red.
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