The industry for eco living businesses has grown steadily in recent years, scaling with rising demand. It’s simply harder now for companies to deny the deleterious effects of their actions. Anyone with an internet connection and some free time can investigate the long-term consequences of a company’s behaviour and readily expose them through social media.
Wanting to avoid negative PR, become more sustainable, and simply do what’s right, more and more companies are thinking about investing in adopting eco-friendly processes and investing in eco-friendly equipment. That doesn’t mean they’re easy to win over, though. There’s a massive difference between thinking about doing something and actually doing it.
To win as much business as possible, eco living B2B companies need to know how to present themselves to possible clients, and key to that is brand-building. Here are some tips for how such companies can create brand voices that resonate with people:
Comment on current events
After the COVID-19 outbreak was officially labeled a pandemic, the repercussions were broad, meaningful and shockingly fast. Consumers flocked to stores to stock up on pantry staples and non-perishables in general, worried about what the future might hold. Many businesses needing foot traffic had to shut down entirely, while those considered essential had to rapidly adapt to updated hygiene standards — and to do that, they needed cleaning products.
To win as much business as possible, eco living B2B companies need to know how to present themselves to possible clients, and key to that is brand-building
This is particularly true of supermarkets, with all the major brands having made big changes to their stores (such as disinfecting trolleys) to make things safer. Eco living brands can take advantage of this to market their products as offering comparable efficacy while causing far fewer issues for the environment. They can even cut their rates temporarily as a gesture of goodwill, as it will benefit everyone; those brands will get their products a lot of exposure and show themselves to be worthy of support.
Share ethical codes
We’re living in a time of escalating interest in ethical consumerism; capitalism still dominates, certainly, but shoppers have so many choices (and are adequately familiar with environmental issues) that they want to buy from companies interested in more than just profit. You must have noticed how many companies now have varied ethical commitments (one example is store host Shopify with its annual commitment of $5 million to fight climate change) It isn’t necessary for every company to donate a large sum, but making some ethics-related commitments is necessary.
This is particularly important in the B2B world because companies are judged not only by how they act but also by how their partners, suppliers and customers act. You can talk all you want about fair trade, for instance, but if it’s found that you work with a company that uses child labour then no amount of plausible deniability will protect you from the backlash.
Talk about objectives
Beyond having a code, every eco living B2B company should have a long-term objective – a vision of the future that could come to fruition. B2B providers can actually scale to the point where their actions do significantly affect the future, after all, so it isn’t even unrealistic. Laying out a clear and enthusiastic objective can make a brand feel much more laudable.
Laying out a clear and enthusiastic objective can make a brand feel much more laudable
Something involving a trackable metric can be particularly useful. For instance, a company built around fitting business premises with green energy devices could look towards a point of having a certain percentage of all national power being drawn by sustainable operations. As with stated values, such an objective can show that a company began its operation not because it was trying to make money but because it actually wants to make things better.
Explain relevant topics
I noted earlier that people are adequately familiar with environmental concerns to want to support businesses that have ethical codes, but there’s a difference between knowing that the world has problems and knowing exactly what those problems are. Most people don’t know the specifics of climate change or understand the magnitude of the problems posed by plastic, and this applies to people inside and outside of large businesses.
Eco living companies have the expertise to explain these topics, and they should take the time to do so through creating suitable media. They could record YouTube explainer videos simplifying the causes they support for unfamiliar viewers, write comprehensive FAQ blog posts covering typical queries, or even commit time each day to spreading verified information through social media channels (very useful given how much misinformation is out there).
The eco living industry has a vital role to play in the world, and the companies that carry it along need to do what they can to connect with people and show why the work they do is so important. These tips should help.
