Are you looking for ways to make your green industry initiatives more local – especially in ways that will benefit your latest marketing endeavors? Here are few ideas for different activities and areas to focus on for maximum effect.
1. Local, Sustainable Resources
Is your supply chain sustainable enough? Many businesses can benefit from a new look at their inventory management and where they gather resources. A change toward greener, more sustainable resources may cost more in the short term, but it also provides many opportunities for branding and new marketing advantages. A restaurant, for example, can easily transform itself into a locally-sourced eatery and gain not only an improvement in menu quality but also new respect among its customers. In addition to foodstuffs, this strategy can also work well for packaging.
2. Implement a New Waste Management System
Recycling is another great way to add green practices to your business and also give you a few new features to put on your branding materials. Customers like to know that your business recycles wisely or at least uses recycled products in your business model. Also, one of the greatest advantages to implementing new waste management systems is that there are many options for all kinds of businesses, and they are relatively easy and cheap to adopt in both large ways and small.
3. Promote New Energy-Saving Technology
If you are willing to consider a larger investment, then you can reinvent your business offering completely by buying new technology to save energy throughout your company. Some types of energy-saving technology may seem relatively neutral when it comes to branding impact, such as new HVAC technologies. But if you run a hosting business, consider the immense impact that new energy efficient HVAC abilities would have on server protection and environmental stability. If you are looking for lawn care business ideas, consider touting the energy efficiency of your equipment, especially if it is electric.
4. Seasonal Awareness
Advertise for the seasons! If the hotter summer days are coming up, then give your customers a few ideas about how to keep cool without racking up their own bills. If winter has shown up unexpectedly, talking about insulation and advertise services like a snow removal business. In spring, it may be time for recommending an irrigation business and water-saving irrigation capabilities for those who have gardens and lawns. Information is not only power – it's also versatile, useful branding content.
5. Offer Ways for Customers to Digitize
Do customers have bills to pay? Do you send out materials to consumers? What about newsletters to those on your customer lists? Think about the different ways that you can digitize this information instead of sending out physical mailers or invoices. Not only will this save money that you would have spent on creating hard copies, but you can also offer the option for customers to choose hard copy or digital copy based on how they feel about digital copies and sustainability.
6. Community Outreach
There's not better way to impress consumers than by getting involved in local events. If you want to add green marketing to the mix, keep an eye out for events that have a strong emphasis on sustainability, including restoration projects and community recycling programs. You may also want to get involved in city projects such as building renewable energy systems or holding fundraisers to raise for similar projects.
7. Show that You Are Up on Compliance
Compliance requirements and other regulations often shift over time to embrace greener goals. Compliance is often required, but that doesn't mean that you can also use it for marketing. Note how compliance helps increase sustainability and make sure your customers know that you are following the latest guidelines for both them and the environment.
If you'd like some help setting goals for your green industry business, check out our eBook!
