Sustainability and ethics are essential to the consumer, as we all realise that we can’t continue the way we do things. The new customers, Millennials and GenZ, are changing the course of consumption. We need brands that ate purpose-driven, yes, but most importantly, we have to be true to this purpose. Here are some reasons why you should look at your brand strategy.
People pay more for sustainability
The Attenborough effect and Greta Thunberg have made us aware of our limited time to solve the planet’s problems. Ethical brands are on the rise, those that don’t abuse the developing countries laws to create cheap goods. The Zero km food movement is up too, as we realise that it’s unsustainable to eat oranges from the other side of the hemisphere when we can get them closer at the right time of the year. We are all becoming less-meat eaters, and when we do so, we pay the extra money for free-range. Two-thirds of the consumers say they are committed to paying more for sustainable brands.
Attracting the right customers
When your brand is purpose-driven, you are already attracting the right customer. A customer that will understand your pricing and will have the will to pay a fair for what you do. So you have a higher chance to be found by your potential customer, meaning that you will have to do less work to find them.
Loyalty increases for purpose-driven brands
Your customers will stay with you because purpose-driven in life means that they are committed to a cause. This can just translate to loyalty.
Loyalty means recommendations
Your customers will be loyal; this also means that they will recommend you to their friends and families.
You will change the world
When you have a purpose, you are committed to change and challenging how things are done, so you will be educating the people around you and your customers to become better people. This can only translate to a better world.
The right way to do this
Lead by example
It is not enough to have the will of being a good business. You have to walk the talk. If your business is about looking after your staff, your staff should be happy. If you say that you are a sustainable brand, plastic-free, you can’t be just a blah-blah-blah brand. You have to have exemplary leadership to tell you where you were saying you are going.
Cooperate
This fight against injustice or global warming is not an individual fight; we have to come together. Businesses, government, and population have to be on the same page of the book to move forward together. Search allies, other brands that complement you, seek change in legislation to benefit all of us.
Accountability and reporting
Be accountable for your actions. Tell the world what are you up to and how will you achieve and then report the results. It’s the only way your business will move forward towards a greener company. Reaching net-zero or becoming a B-corp is not a piece of cake, so find the strength in accountability. Life will get in the middle.
Understand growth
We think growth should look like the Omicron graphs on the rise, something exponential. But nothing in nature grows forever because it is unsustainable. A tree grows fast at the beginning and then slows down. Businesses should have the same approach. We have to develop sustainability in our trading, creating and manufacturing.