What are your Customer’s Green Motives

…and more importantly, why does it matter to you?

As Environmental Leader reports, a recent study found that a whopping 77% of consumers described themselves as green. These consumers can be divided into four main categories:

• Deeply Committed – people who are really trying to make a positive impact on the environment
• Trendy – people who see others going green and want to stay in touch with today’s green trends
• Practical – people who go green because it makes sense for their lifestyle for one reason or another
• Passive – people who want to better the environment in order to provide a better life for their families

What about your consumers, though? Where do they fall? And why should you care?

First, this effects your price point. If your consumers are, in general, going green to save money, you want to find ways to help them do that It might be in finding a cheaper way to manufacture products, using less energy so that you can cut costs, for example, or it might be in offering products of the same price, but that use less energy in their homes, thus saving them money.

On the other hand, if your target market cares more about going green for the good of the world, they will typically be willing to pay a higher price as long as they are doing something good for the environment. For these consumers, you want to focus on being as green as possible, even if it drives prices higher.

Price isn’t the only thing this affects though. You also want your advertisements to hit hardest the group into which your consumers fall. Say you’re selling hair dryers that use 50% less energy. How would you create a commercial that entices someone in the trendy group? Now imagine your target market falls in the practical group…how would that commercial for the same product change?

The point it, you need to constantly keep your thumb on the pulse of your consumer’s motives. Whatever you’re selling, it only makes sense to go green if you can get your market on board.