If you are curious about what is green marketing? You may be an eco-friendly business looking to promote your eco service or products. For ethical and environmentally conscious companies wanting to ensure your green practices extend into all aspects of your business, including promotion, is likely high on your agenda. This article will explain what green marketing is and how to apply it to your organisation.

What is Green Marketing?: A Definition

Green marketing is the method of promoting products or services based on their environmental benefits. I have seen some definitions as saying “promoting products **perceived** as environmental sustainability,” but it cannot truly be green marketing unless those products are actually green. If they are only perceived as eco-friendly, then the marketing is purely greenwashing. For genuine eco-friendly businesses, this should be avoided at all costs. For green marketing, the products or services promoted may be environmentally friendly in themselves or produced in an environmentally friendly way.

How Is green marketing applied?

Green marketing could encompass all marketing services, this type of promotion relates more to how you apply eco-friendly principles to your current strategy. Plus, how the environmental impact of your business, products and services can be used as a promotion tool.

Practical

The first step in green marketing is understanding how eco-friendly your products and services are. It may come from the production, the process or the actual product. When your goods are genuinely eco-friendly, you will be able to promote them as such truthfully. Some practical applications within your marketing efforts include:

Write service pages and product descriptions that are accurate and transparent and explain in detail the environmental impact and good practices you undertake.
Thoroughly written about us page, corporate policies and FAQs which inform and inspire your audience into action.
Your company may be part of other organisations, certification bodies or groups that promote and support environmental issues. You may also donate profits, goods and services to charities and non-profits in the fight against climate change. These are all things you can promote.
By reviewing your manufacturing or service process to then writing about it, may highlight some points of your business that could be improved. Acknowledging where you still need to make progress is as important as promoting all the fantastic aspects of your green company. Ethical consumers appreciate truth and transparency when it comes to selecting a brand.

Promotion

I’ve written a whole article on how to make your marketing eco-friendly, so check it out. But, as a starting point, you should look at the environmental impact of your marketing and ensure it adheres to your business’s core principles. There is no point in promoting eco products if your marketing promotes harmful consumption, damages the environment further or is simply greenwashing. Some considerations include:

What is the environmental impact of your promotion? How much energy is used, and can it be improved?
What is the social impact? Does your promotion explain a brand’s green credentials accurately and with transparency? Are your writing and imagery inclusive and educational?
Does your marketing encourage poor consumer behaviour, such as overconsumption or rushed buying? Green marketing should be included under the more extensive umbrella of ethical marketing. The two cannot be separated if green marketing is to be used correctly.

Customer Service

Often marketing is focused on pre-sales promotion, but I believe that post-sales is as vital in the marketing efforts. Ensuring that you provide quality aftercare support for your customers is an integral part of green marketing ethics. Here are some green practices to consider:

How will you ship goods? Can you use electric cars, to ensure full capacity on deliveries or off-set transport emissions?
How is your packaging sustainable? I’d feel disappointed in a company if I bought a natural, ethical product that comes wrapped in layers of excessive packaging with plastic padding and tape. What alternative options can you use, or can you reuse packaging?
What is your after-care support like? By ensuring your customer service is efficient in handling issues and complaints, you reduce the time and physical energy spent on queries and reduce the requirement for returns. Maximising company efficiency is touted as the best way to increase profits, but it’s also how you can reduce your carbon footprint too.

Green Marketing with Middleton Marketing

You can read all about ethical marketing in the complete guide. Middleton Marketing is the marketer for you if you’d like help with an ethical marketing strategy or campaign implementation. I offer consultancy, SEO, content and copywriting services focusing on ethical promotion and research-based strategy. The environmentally impact of my work is incredibly important to me, and I love to work with brands like yours that are doing their bit to help the planet. Contact me today.