Sustainability is a topic that is gaining increasing traction, given the significant relevance of sustainability in our current reality. Therefore, the principles of sustainable marketing are becoming a mandatory topic for today's organizations.
For example, an investigation by the Retail Industry Leaders Association identified that 93% of consumers expect the brands they buy to support social and environmental issues.
As a result, many companies that don't necessarily define themselves as sustainable are realizing that they can leverage any type of sustainability action to add value to their brands and increase sales.
With the above in mind, in this article we'll address the principles of sustainable marketing and how companies, regardless of their size, can adapt it with various easy-to-implement actions that will yield significant results in the future.
What do we mean by sustainable marketing?
Quoting Diane Martin's definition in her book Sustainable Marketing, “Sustainable marketing is the process of creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers in such a way that both natural and human capital are conserved or enhanced at all times.
In fact, the above definition is a combination of two elements: what we understand as marketing (creating and communicating business value) and the concept of sustainability (the actions we take without compromising the capacity of future generations, with economic, environmental, and social balance).
More pragmatically, Smart Insights defines sustainable marketing as the promotion of environmentally and socially responsible products, practices, and brand values.
For example, if you've ever spent a little more on something because you know it was made with 100% recyclable or environmentally friendly materials, you've experienced sustainable marketing.
We can summarize sustainable marketing as a way to communicate the sustainable essence of a business, attracting potential customers and creating value for society.
The 5 principles of sustainable marketing
Next, we'll review the principles of sustainable marketing in detail from a business strategy perspective.
Principle 1: Consumer-oriented marketing
Consumer-oriented marketing means that the company or organization views its marketing strategy from the consumer's point of view.
This means that the company must prioritize meeting customer needs by delivering the value they desire, rather than creating a need for a product in the market based on its offering.
This approach will result in attraction marketing rather than simply driving sales.
It's not about addressing the common belief that the customer is always right, but rather about implementing a real system for listening to customer needs, interpreting them in the best way possible, and, based on this, generating products, services, and processes that deliver genuine customer value.
By doing this, the company will realize that many of its customers are highly conscious of preserving their environment, and these will provide valuable insights that will facilitate the development of more valuable and sustainable products.
Principle 2: Customer Value Marketing
Customer value marketing involves putting the majority of efforts and resources into continually improving the value added to the offering.
An example of this is Starbucks' personalized name cups. A detail that may seem simple, but it meant increased value for the company, as customers felt represented by the brand, increasing loyalty.
This strategy can be understood as a spiral in which as the company creates value for the customer, the customer in turn creates value for the company.
Principle 3: Innovative Marketing
The principle of innovative marketing ensures that the company never stops finding different and better ways to develop processes, products, services, and marketing models.
This is because customers increasingly demand more innovative products that can meet new needs or in new contexts (for example, the new post-COVID normal).
Consequently, the company must have a system that allows it to generate and manage ideas to transform them into innovative products and services of great value to customers.
Principle 4: Mission-driven marketing
Mission-driven marketing is the principle that allows a company to link its purpose to a long-term, sustainable approach.
A company's mission should not be focused on simply generating more profits, expanding its business, or increasing shareholder value, but rather should have a social and environmental scope that delivers value to all stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and society at large).
Adopting a broader mission gives a company a clear, long-term direction and serves the best interests of consumers and the brand.
Principle 5: Social Marketing
Using the principle of social marketing, the company balances decisions based on customer desires, company requirements, and the long-term interests of the customer and society.
Sustainable marketing goes beyond concern for the needs and desires of today's society, but focuses on the well-being of all stakeholders and the world at large.
Keep in mind to implement the principles of sustainable marketing
If you want to see results after implementing sustainable marketing actions, you must start implementing them as soon as possible.
Sustainable marketing requires long-term planning because it depends on the sustainability actions implemented within the company, which do not produce immediate results.
For example, the LEGO company has a mission to ensure that its bricks to be sustainable by 2030 and to do this, carry out annual actions that provide small victories that can be passed on to its clients and support several of its marketing strategies.
Finally, keep in mind that sustainable marketing is closely linked to the concept of triple bottom line.
This concept defines that, contrary to the approach that a company should only pursue profitability, it should focus on finding opportunities in three important areas of an organization: financial, environmental, and social.
