Why build a sustainable marketing strategy? One of the reasons for brands is to adapt to changing consumer behavior, in full awareness of the challenges of societal and environmental transformation. Once the decision has been made, all that remains is to structure the approach while avoiding the trap of goodwashing. Clarisse Popower, expert in responsible digital marketing, details the roadmap for a sustainable and responsible marketing strategy.
Participating in environmental and societal transformation has become essential for brands. Climate disruption, inflation, health scandals… consumer behavior is indeed evolving towards more reasoned consumption. Faced with this societal transformation, brands must integrate environmental and societal issues into their marketing strategies. But how to do it ? They can capitalize on the power of influence of marketing by directing their practices towards more sustainability.
From hyperconsumption to sustainability
It is often accused of promoting hyperconsumption to the detriment of environmental and societal issues. Of course, marketing has long promoted materialistic values, perpetuated discriminatory norms and stereotypes (cult of beauty), or even encouraged inappropriate behavior (over-indebtedness, junk food, wasted clothing, etc.).
But if influence is the very essence of marketing, the question is how the brand will capitalize on it to influence behavior and with what objectives.
One of the key roles of marketing is to create value for consumers. More and more of them are showing ecological and societal awareness. Expecting transparency and ethics, they no longer hesitate to de-consume a brand that no longer corresponds to their values. When palm oil gets bad press, Nutella sees its sales drop 4.41TP3Q in 2019. And 52% of consumers are even willing to pay more for a brand concerned with environmental and social issues, according to a study by Havas Group (May 2021).
Sustainable marketing, but above all not goodwashing
Brands must first take into consideration the triple impact of their offer: environmental, social and economic. Then, they must absolutely avoid the trap of goodwashing. In other words, do not give an illusory image of ecological or societal responsibility. A practice that would harm the reputation of the brand as much, if not more, than not engaging in a process of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Furthermore, even if regulations (polluter-pays taxes, bonus-malus, PACTE law, etc.) support brands in this more sustainable transition, they also benefit from undertaking a fundamental approach. This involves reviewing brand positioning and identity to have a lasting positive influence. How to go about it ?
The 5 key steps to sustainable marketing
Defining the roadmap for a sustainable and responsible marketing strategy involves 5 key steps.
Step 1: Determine your purpose
The first step in the process is to identify its purpose and brand manifesto. The idea is to be more reactive, proactive, even anticipatory in the face of changes.
Step 2: choose a status
You must then review your general organization and choose a status that correlates with your activity: mission-driven company, association, cooperative, ESS.
Step 3: define the guideline of your marketing mix
This guideline must be consistent with the brand’s purpose. It is possible to adopt, for example, an eco-socio-design posture.
Step 4: mobilize your stakeholders
To be efficient, any sustainable marketing strategy must mobilize all of the company's stakeholders. In other words, suppliers, customers, partners, collaborators... everyone must follow a course of action consistent with the brand's purpose.
Step 5: be consistent in marketing your products or services
Once the mix guideline has been adapted to the brand's purpose, it is essential to stay the course in marketing its product or service offerings.
Staying the course means above all favoring sustainable distribution methods. That is to say short circuits and optimized logistics.
It also means reinventing responsible communication both in substance and in form: not misleading the consumer, not encouraging them to adopt non-responsible behavior, but rather advising them or making them aware of the environmental and societal issues of its consumption.
It is also and above all favoring qualitative KPIs over quantitative KPIs. In other words, it involves taking into account not only economic management indicators (ROI and impacts on sales) but also the image and reputation of the brand, the ecological footprint, the well-being index…
Once the roadmap is established, the brand must be consistent in operational practice of its sustainable marketing strategy.
Who says sustainable marketing also says more ethical marketing
How can we change behavior by directing consumers towards more sustainability? Take inspiration from the essential 2022 trends in the practice of more reasoned marketing.
Participatory marketing
Also called collaborative marketing, it is a set of techniques to involve consumers from the design of the offer to its distribution. Participatory marketing makes it possible, for example, to assess the real needs of consumers, to eliminate non-essential functionalities of the product or service and thus to meet their expectations as closely as possible. Consumers then become consumer actors because they are active stakeholders from the design of the offer.
Nudge marketing
Incentivize without ever constraining consumers: this is the philosophy of nudge marketing. It can be used to promote behavioral changes in favor of the environment or society.
Inclusive marketing
Adopting inclusive marketing makes it possible to reduce cultural prejudices and to be an actor of positive social change thanks to content that is caring and respectful of all. In this regard, the women's underwear brand Darjeeling appears exemplary with its campaign #AsIAm which highlights 18 portraits of women of all origins and ages.
Often attacked, marketing is nevertheless the ideal tool for promoting sustainable consumption models, more respectful of society and the environment. The power of influence of brands can be used to encourage a more sustainable and virtuous world. Practicing sustainable marketing means inseparably integrating value for the consumer, for the company and for society at large.
