To stay relevant as a business in the digital market, it is important to understand what matters to your target consumer. Selling your products or services online involves much more than just explaining what they are. You also must be mindful of how you present your business.
Recent trends indicate that consumers are interested in environmentally and socially conscious alternatives when it comes to making purchases. In other words, consumers value sustainability.
Sustainability consists of three major aspects — environmental, economic, and social responsibility. When a business truly embraces what sustainability is and how they can implement it in their business, they often experience an increase in consumer recognition and brand loyalty.
What Is Sustainable Branding?
Your brand is more than your name and logo. It is also how you interact with your customers. Sustainable branding involves the process of creating and maintaining a genuine identity of your product and business that demonstrates an added value and appreciation of environmental or social benefits.
When you decide to embrace sustainable branding, you are choosing to integrate environmental, social, and economic issues into different aspects of your business operations. This branding goes beyond using eco-friendly materials or a statement of going green. It involves the willingness to truly acknowledge and take part in a wide variety of issues facing the world today.
Be Genuine
Brand loyalty relies on providing quality products and creating a personable presence in the digital world through your website and social media engagement. When moving toward sustainable branding, your customers must be able to see it for themselves so that they can experience the changes you are making.
Sustainable branding relies heavily on the heart. Creating emotional connections increases the likelihood someone will choose to make a purchase through you versus your competition. This connection needs to be genuine. Consumers value businesses they can trust and transparency is key in showing your real commitment to sustainable efforts.
Sustainable Marketing
The commitment to sustainability should be clear to your target audience. It is crucial to avoid greenwashing, which is essentially the image of embracing sustainability with no real commitment to it. Businesses that rely on greenwashing waste time and money to give consumers an illusion — and they can find themselves scrambling to rebuild their image when their image doesn’t match their truth.
Successful sustainable marketing involves demonstrating the real efforts you are making. The move to sustainability doesn’t have to happen overnight. It often involves small steps that can take time. What matters most to your consumer is the effort you are putting forth. Therefore, many companies choose to provide sustainability reports that are openly published on their website. This type of marketing also involves highlighting that you are aware of safety concerns, environmental impact, and social connection.
Benefits of Sustainable Branding
Most consumers confirm that they are more likely to conduct business with a company that uses sustainable branding in some way. Consumers want to know where their money is going. Companies that care about the same issues their customers do can inspire consumers to purchase from them. In many instances, consumers are even willing to spend more to support a sustainable business. Through sustainable branding, you can make greater emotional bonds with your customers, make an impact on social issues, and better support our global environment.
Embrace Sustainability
The desire to seek out companies that embrace sustainability shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Sustainability efforts can help you better connect with your target audience, increasing sales while also making a truly positive impact on the world around you. RIVIR is committed to helping retailers better connect with consumers. Contact us to learn more.
