Total Marketing Solutions

Not many people would argue with the fact that businesses have literally driven the transformation of the modern world. From the original Bell telephone, which eventually led to the electronic information age, the list of consumer goods that have appeared in an evolutionary eye blink is endless. And it’s only getting faster. Disney produces a new product every five minutes whilst Sony launches three new products per hour. Seventy percent of Hewlett-Packard’s revenue comes from products that didn’t exist a year ago. This constant rush to market has dramatically improved and transformed human life — not only doubling our life expectancy and improving the quality of living but expanding our horizons too.

At the same time, the rush to capture more market share, propelled by the profit motive, has caused untold damage to this planet. The momentum of the corporate juggernaut is so powerful that trying to alter its course might seems almost impossible. “We are not just marching toward disaster,” says noted business consultant and author Ichak Adizes, “we are sprinting toward it.”

However, an increased awareness of the importance of sustainability is creating a new consciousness – and not just amongst the large global corporations. Companies of all sizes are now recognizing that as their customers’ views towards sustainability are growing, they now need to respond to these changes in order to have any stake in the future. And marketing stands to be at the forefront again – but this time as a force for good. As Marketing Consultants to SME’s we are now seeing an increasing number of clients seeking to build sustainability into their business.

Marketers are at the frontline in their relationship with customers and it is customers who are now driving the demand for companies to be more accountable. Britons spent nearly £26 billion on ethical goods in 2004, up 15% on 2003 – far more than a passing fad. It is marketers now who can take their unique customer insight to the rest of their company. They can have a direct impact on processing, packaging, and distribution whilst communicating their new approaches to sustainability to both the customer and the rest of the company.

Marketers now have the opportunity to lead creative responses and to encourage different, more sustainable responses. For those of you already doing the basics, how about:

• Implementing a sustainable sourcing policy – only buy from suppliers who operate sustainably.

• Introducing flexible working patterns at times outside of the rush hours to reduce idling traffic pollution and encourage working from home for some of week if possible.

• Looking at your packaging – are there any ways it could be reduced or degradable materials substituted? 

• Looking at your supply chain – could you source more locally if possible?

More radically perhaps, look at re-engineering your products and services to extend their product life cycle or remove any built-in redundancy. (How many of us have recently thrown away a perfectly good mobile phone to replace it with a fancier version?) Any step away from this current “disposable society” has to be a step in the right direction and the time for marketing to lead irresponsible and unsustainable consumer demand is probably over!

The business case for businesses to implement any steps towards sustainability is strong indeed and something which we, as Marketing Consultants, are keen to encourage wherever possible. There is real competitive advantage to be found in communicating sustainability credentials. By switching to sustainable suppliers, you are more likely to receive reciprocal business from like-minded organizations.

However, beware! In communicating your company’s green credentials you run the risk of “greenwash” – using a statement of ethical intent as a means of gaining competitive advantage, rather than demonstrating any real commitment to the cause. Only by ensuring that any move towards sustainability is real and not simply added on in an attempt to lure ethically-minded customers can you avoid an unpleasant attack of “greenwash.”

If you are serious about generating cost savings and creating competitive advantage, whilst adding to your reputation, take a long, hard look at how to adopt a more sustainable approach to doing business. It’s one of the few win-win situations out there any more and a real opportunity for marketing to shape the future.