26-07-2014, 04:28 PM
EMERGING STRATEGIES OF GREEN MARKETING IN INDIA
1378467387-5HimaniTyagi236ResearchCommunicationBKMNIJAEBMAprMayJun2013.pdf (Size: 400.02 KB / Downloads: 130)
INTRODUCTION
Green Marketing : The term Green Marketing came into
prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s.The
American Marketing Association (AMA) held the first
workshop on "Ecological Marketing" in 1975.The
proceedings of this workshop resulted in one of the first
books on green marketing entitled "Ecological Marketing".
According to the American Marketing Association, green
marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to
be environmentally safe. Thus green marketing incorporates
a broad range of activities, including product modification,
changes to the production process, packaging changes, as
well as modifying advertising. Yet defining green
marketing is not a simple task where several meanings
intersect and contradict each other; an example of this will
be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail
definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used
are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing.
The legal implications of marketing claims call for caution.
Misleading or overstated claims can lead to regulatory or
civil challenges. In the USA, the [Federal Trade Commission] provides some guidance on environmental
marketing claims. This Commission is expected to do an
overall review of this guidance, and the legal standards it
contains, in 2011.
Today's consumers are becoming more and more conscious
about the environment and are also becoming socially
responsible. Therefore, more companies are responsible to
consumers' aspirations for environmentally less damaging
or neutral products. “Green marketing” promotes the
environmental benefits of products, or a company’s
sustainability initiatives. It is continuing to grow in
popularity—in large part due to the fact that customers are
increasingly integrating their environmental values into
their purchasing decisions. More and more customers want
to support companies that incorporate sustainability efforts
into their product and service offerings.
THE GREEN MARKETING MIX
A model of a green marketing mix should, of course,
contain all 4P’s:
Product : A producer should offer ecological products which not only must not contaminate the environment
but should protect it and even liquidate existing
environmental damages.
Price : Prices for such products may be a little higher
than conventional alternatives. But target groups like
for example LOHAS are willing to pay extra for green
products.
Place : A distribution logistics is of crucial importance;
main focus is on ecological packaging. Marketing local
and seasonal products e.g. vegetables from regional
farms is more easy to be marketed “green” than
products imported.
Promotion : A communication with the market should
put stress on environmental aspects, for example that
the company possesses a CP certificate or is ISO 14000
certified. This may be publicized to improve a firm’s
image. Furthermore, the fact that a company spends
expenditures on environmental protection should be
advertised. Third, sponsoring the natural environment
is also very important. And last but not least, ecological
products will probably require special sales
promotions.
Additional Social Marketing "P's" that are used in this
process are as followed :
Publics : Effective Social Marketing knows its
audience, and can appeal to multiple groups of people.
"Public" is the external and internal groups involved in
the program. External publics include the target
audience, secondary audiences, policymakers, and
gatekeepers, while the internal publics are those who
are involved in some way with either approval or
implementation of the program.
Partnership : Most social change issues, including
"green" initiatives, are too complex for one person or
group to handle. Associating with other groups and
initiatives to team up strengthens the chance of
efficacy.
Policy : Social marketing programs can do well in
motivating individual behavior change, but that is
difficult to sustain unless the environment they're in
supports that change for the long run. Often, policy
change is needed, and media advocacy programs can
be an effective complement to a social marketing
program.
Purse Strings : How much will this strategic effort
cost? Who is funding the effort?
The level of greening-strategic, quasi-strategic, or tactical
dictates exactly what activities should be under-taken by a
company. Strategic greening in one area may or may not be
leveraged effectively in others. A firm could make
substantial changes in production processes but opt not to
leverage them by positioning itself as an environmental
leader. So although strategic greening is not necessarily
strategically integrated into all marketing activities, it is
nevertheless strategic in the product area.
[b]Trends of Green Marketing[/b] : In the “better, but not
booming” economy many predict in 2013, shoppers will
focus more than ever on what they care about most deeply.
So human values will increasingly shape their spending
agenda. At the same time, new trends and priorities will
inspire consumers to find new ways to take their values
shopping. In addition to their abiding commitment to
Health and Sustainability, values-driven shoppers will
honor values like Transparency, Justice, Peace, and the
more practical value of Frugality. Look for these trends to
gain traction in 2013:
Non-violence Emerges as Top Value : In 2013 Peace and
Non-violence will increasingly shape our financial choices.
After the Newtown, CT massacre, a CBS poll found an 18-
percent increase in people who favor tougher gun
restrictions. This year powerful investors (i.e. the California
teachers pension fund) have already sold weapons stocks.
There are new consumer calls to boycott sporting goods
stores that sell guns. In 2006, Walmart banned gun sales,
but reintroduced them in 2011 to boost weak sales.
“Boycott Walmart” initiatives now appear on Facebook.
Fair Trade Takes Off : Fair Trade (FT for short)
consumers voluntarily pay a little bit more to endorse the
value of social justice for farmers and artisans in
developing countries. Result: Fair Trade is trending toward
$5 billion global market. Fair Trade USA’s “Fair Trade
Finder” mobile app helps consumers find FT products
Third Party Verification Rules : Conscious shoppers
favor products bearing a seal or certification from a
reputable organization. LOHAS shoppers—80 percent of
them—want trusted, independent sources to verify
corporate product claims and 40 percent of all shoppers
demand a seal or certification, reports a study by the
Natural Marketing Institute.
Third Party Verification Rules : Conscious shoppers
favor products bearing a seal or certification from a
reputable organization. LOHAS shoppers—80 percent of
them—want trusted, independent sources to verify
corporate product claims and 40 percent of all shoppers
demand a seal or certification, reports a study by the
Natural Marketing Institute.
GREEN MARKETING STRATEGIES
As consumers become more environmentally conscious,
businesses must adapt or risk losing customers to
competitors pursuing a green strategy. As a company tries
to rebrand itself as green, it risks accusations of
"greenwashing" or using marketing tactics to create a false
impression of environmental responsibility. Small
businesses seeking to leverage the power of "going green" should carefully coordinate genuine actions and marketing
strategies.
Electronic Press Kit : For businesses with regular media
contact, an electronic press kit puts a big dent into paper
usage. Press kits typically include a company history,
product brochures, biographies of the company executives,
photos and press clips. Companies often send a press kit to
every media outlet in the area. A business could convert all
of the documents and images into electronic files and offer
the kit as a downloadable folder on its website. The
electronic press kit requires no paper and no postage. The
website could even indicate that the electronic press kit is
part of an ongoing effort to reduce the business'
environmental impact.
CONCLUSION
Now Green Marketing is the better option in today scenario
to develop the actual advertising campaign itself.