Part 3
There is a common question that I get asked by businesses often: What is the purpose in being a green business? Depending upon your type of business, the answer might vary slightly. However, there is a common reason why you should be green, regardless of your industry. The reason is that it is good marketing.

There is money to be made with a generation of people who value green living as a way of life. The environmental movement has done a very good job of preaching their beliefs to a generation of young adults that hold being green as a value. What exactly do I mean when I say that they value being green? My definition of a value is something that we hold dear as essential to making things right in our lives. If you tamper with someone’s values, they will become disillusioned with you. It is different than an attitude. Attitudes can change often. An example of attitudes would be diet plans. What makes up a healthy and effective diet? Do you count calories or carbohydrates, or do you factor in the amount of proteins and dietary fats? How much fiber is needed for a good diet? What about calcium and B vitamins? Are eggs good for you or are they at the center of what is wrong with arterial/cardiac disease? Attitudes change often. Groups may have one attitude towards a product today that they will not have tomorrow.

Values, on the other hand, are so deeply held that they change little after we come of age, if ever. For instance, in 2004, Target stores announced that they were not going to allow the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle bell ringers outside their stores during the Christmas season. The not-for-profit had historically received $9 million in donations from Target customers. The action offended the values of many shoppers, who boycotted Target. Angry e-mails circulated virally. Internet truth detectors, like Snopes.com confirmed the rumors were true. On the heels of the Target ban, Walmart came out with a statement in support of the Red Kettle bell ringers. They marketed to the values of the offended former Target shoppers. Can you guess which of the two retailers had more Christmas sales (6 to 1) in 2004?

What I am saying is that green has made the transition from being an attitude, to being a value with a generational marketplace of young adults. If you market to them and are not green, you have offended their value system. There is money to be made when you understand the values of a specific target market. It is just plain smart business to market your green business to this generation.

So how do you do this? First, stay clear of the missteps that can derail your marketing efforts. If you are in an industry that is highly regulated by local, state and national government environmental oversight agencies, there is a clear reason to be green. You want to be on the right side of regulations. If you are written up for not being in compliance with pollution regulations, it will hurt your image as a company. I don’t care how well you try to sell yourself in your marketing efforts, if you have a polluter’s rap hanging on you, it is hard to beat in the collective thinking of the marketplace. Call it preventive P.R.; it pays to stay clean. If you are in compliance, tout your green record in your marketing mediums. Know that the green eyes of a generation are watching you.

Efficiency is in vogue with the green movement. Doing more with less has been regarded as stinginess by older generations. It has always been a part of the profitability equation for business, for which management usually took a hit in the respect-o-meter. However, with the new green movement and the fact that many young adults, due to the recession, have had to do with less for the first times in their lives, being efficient in your use of resources is considered a valuable thing to do.

Make sure your green efforts are being driven by your target market and not by some environmental 501c(3) organization. Any marketing decision you make has to be about your ability to produce income in your business, not the whim of a group disassociated with your business. Let your target market drive your green maneuvering. Let the people who buy from you define the green lines in your company. If it is important to your customer, it should catch your attention. Green marketing should drive sales. If it does not, take a second look at what you are doing and whom you are trying to please.

Email: Target Bans Salvation Army Bell Ringers, Urban Legends.com  http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_salvation_army.htm

Target Stores Have Given the Boot to the Salvation Army-Truth! But There is an Update! Truth or Fiction.com  http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/r/redkettle.htm