How to communicate Green Customer Relationship Marketing

In today’s world environmental sustainability is a crucial concern, businesses need to adapt their marketing strategies to reflect their environmentally conscious values. This post aims to bring insight, strategies and tips for businesses looking to build meaningful and sustainable relationships with their customers whilst minimising their environmental impact.

What is Green CRM?

Green Customer Relationship Marketing refers to the practice of building and supporting long-term relationships with customers through eco-friendly strategies. It helps businesses to align their values with that of the environmentally conscious consumers, fostering trust and loyalty through their commitment to environmental and social responsibility. (1)

What Green Communication Methods can be used?

Green Communication is a way of conveying sustainability, which evokes understanding and meaning. In a way that is beneficial to both the business and its environment.

Some examples of green communication methods are (2):

• Digital communications. Through utilising email marketing, social media, and other online platforms for advertising and customer engagement.
• Another option is to host virtual events or webinars instead of in-person events which would help reduce travel emissions as well as eliminating the need for printed materials.
• Eco-friendly packaging with messages around sustainable practices can help communicate environmental responsibility to customers.
• Using FSC certified paper for printed materials, these materials are made of responsibly sourced wood fibre, meaning they are sustainably produced.

Businesses can also look at green messaging as further green communication methods. However, it is important to be wary of businesses that may be falsely advertising themselves as sustainable and deceptively using green marketing to persuade the public that their products and/or services are environmentally friendly; this is called greenwashing. It is crucial to avoid greenwashing by refraining from making misleading or false claims around your business's sustainability initiatives.

The importance of transparency

Transparency is necessary when it comes to eco-friendly communications. It is essential to foster trust and credibility with consumers. Transparency allows consumers to make more informed choices when it comes to eco-friendly products and practices, whilst helping the business through building brand loyalty and strengthening reputation. Strategies for building trust through transparent communications include openly sharing information about sourcing, production process, and environmental assessments. (3)

How to measure impact & stay updated

To measure Green Marketing effectiveness, the following metrics can be used:

• Changes in consumer understandings and attitudes towards sustainability
• Level of customer engagement
• Reductions in your businesses environmental impact
• Improvements in sales and/or market share

It is vital to keep up to date with the latest trends in Green Marketing too; this will help you to remain competitive and responsive to the ever-changing consumer preferences and societal expectations in this area, while also fostering the most up to date sustainable practises as a business.

References

1. Sustainability | Free Full-Text | Analysis of the Conceptual Frameworks of Green Marketing (mdpi.com)

2. The art of green communication (vadviam.com)

3. The Role of Transparency in Corporate Social Responsibility - FasterCapital

Written by Rachel Prior, Join the Dots