“Consumers Don’t Warm to Eco-Friendly Products” blazed across the page of a recent Brandweek article. Wow, I thought. Better read this one. The gist: Two recent surveys suggest consumers aren’t too gung-ho about purchasing environmentally friendly products these days.
When you think about all of the strides consumer product companies have made in recent years, you’ve got to wonder why. I mean think of it: greener product components, greener packaging, more reusing, recycling and repurposing than ever. What’s the problem?
Could it be that a weak economy is bringing consumer issues with environmentally friendly products to the surface now? Seems so.
The surveys cited uncovered the following:
- Consumer perception that green products are priced higher than conventional ones.
- Consumer perception that green products may not work as well as conventional ones.
- Fewer sales by green companies make it less likely consumers will try their products.
- Most consumers like the idea of doing their bit to help the planet. But their first priority is: What will the product do for me?
For more details from the surveys, please read the Brandweek article.
These findings are very telling. They point out a crucial fact: Companies need to engage in educating the public about their products more intensively, or, as the article succinctly points out: “risk skepticism or irrelevance.” That according to M.J. Jolda, SVP of marketing for Marcal Small Steps.
How true. Green product marketers must change perception. No easy task. They must consider offering periodic sales to encourage consumers to try their products. Lastly, they must educate consumers about the efficacy of their products; how the price is either in the ballpark with the rest of the category, or slightly higher for real and substantive reasons that make sense. Lastly, they must prove to skeptical consumers that using their products will make a demonstrable difference.
All of the claims and education in the world won’t have a big impact until the economy turns around. But, it seems to me, this is an opportune time to launch a new effort aimed at educating and telling a compelling story.
Questions:
• What do you think of the Green Gauge survey statement that 52% of respondents agreed with: “First comes economic security, then we can worry about environmental problems”? Do you agree?
• Can we balance our economic needs with environmental concerns, even during trying times?
• Do you think this points to a larger problem, regardless of the economy? Are consumers less concerned in reality, than they say they are about the environment?
I’d love to hear from you.
Finally, there we have it!
From a European perspective, it looks the same: green products and approaches are only popular as long as they deliver the same or higher value than others. When companies or politicians put green credentials as the no. 1 selling point, it will not do the trick. These considerations *are* important, but they are not *the* decisive factor.
Important to bear in mind, also for marketers!
Hi Gabor,
Thanks for sharing your valuable perspective from Europe! Exactly. No amount of persuasion or coercion will make consumers pony up the money to buy green products if 1. they perceive they’re considerably more expensive than their mass market counterparts and 2. they’re not sure about their efficacy. Eco-friendly product marketers have a big job to do. They must educate consumers to convince them of their value. Then, they must do what they can to prove they’re aren’t more, or much more expensive than comparable products in the category. Either that or they must prove they’re offering much more value and thus asking for more money. Great comments, Gabor. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
Ted,
While I’m sure “green” sometimes means more expensive in the manufacturing process, some of these companies better hope consumers don’t figure out that some options for “green” work just as well as and are dirt cheap (i.e. white vinegar, water and lemon juice for cleaning). Also, I realize that not everyone lives near a Trader Joe’s, but they have plenty of environmentally friendly products at lower prices…
Hi Paul,
Thanks for commenting on my post. I appreciate it. It seems a bit ironic that cleaner, greener products are more expensive because of the ingredients they leave out. The article I cited points to a perception problem that hasn’t gone away and really should be addressed. Many retailers offer eco-friendly products at good prices; not only Trader Joe’s. In this day and age, discounters are plentiful. And as you pointed out, Paul, many consumers make their own cleaning solutions at home using basic household items. While that isn’t hard to do, most of us don’t take the time to make our own. We like the convenience of purchasing and using ready-made products. Hopefully, manufacturers take a good look at their messaging and work on this. As the economy improves, they have a good opportunity to make inroads with consumers.
We have designed our products from an environmentally friendly point of view but that is not the only selling factor. Cost is a very big part of what we do in our company along with how well and quickly our products will work for the end user. So, with that said – the idea that “green” items are not at the top of many shopping lists really scares me from an environmentally conscious point of view, a sales point of view for our company and a mother’s point of view. Knowing what we know now about how to conserve and preserve I think we owe it to our children / grandchildren and / or the future of our planet to try to correct things that we may have done in the past that have been detrimental to our health.
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for sharing your insights with us. Quite right: cost must be factored in, as well as product efficacy, if green products are going to gain share. Let’s face it: many consumers do care about conservation and preservation, but right now they’re more concerned about the impacts of a sluggish economy. They’re paying down debt and purchasing less and more wisely. Can’t really blame anyone for that. Then there are consumers for whom environmentalism really hasn’t resonated. Hence, the need for marketers to educate and effectively message their brands. It’s important to assess where we are from time to time so we can determine how much work needs to be done, right?
Nice article here. Education is really important to change the society’s perception on eco-friendly products. Some of the products are indeed more expensive than traditional products, but we should think of the effects of using large amount of non-recyclable products to the environment. It’s actually very easy and fun to recycle, reduce and reuse products. Anyway, thanks for the information Ted!