When goods and services are marketed by highlighting their benefits to the environment, it is called ‘green marketing.’ The product, its production process (nature of service offering in case of services), or the packaging process may be environmentally friendly. You will get knowledge about process of green marketing.
Different modifications are carried out in the product and in its production, packaging, and promotion processes to initiate green marketing. However, giving a precise definition for green marketing is difficult as it has various overlapping and opposing meanings. Many retail, social as well as environmental definitions are available for it. Other terms used for green marketing are ‘ecological marketing’ or ‘environmental marketing.’ In the next section, you will know the process of green marketing.
According to the American Marketing Association, “Green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe.”
Process of Green Marketing
The process of green marketing involves four main steps, which are explained below:
1. Development of Green Products
Since the strategy of products is the first important strategy in marketing, the first step towards green marketing is the development of green products. A firm should conduct green marketing through a green product acting as its carrier. A green product is a non-pollutant product which is advantageous for improving the natural business environment and society. A company must consider all the environmental impacts while developing a green product, including choice of raw materials, structure formation, production process, water disposal, and utilisation.
2. Fixing the Green Price
The price is fixed after developing the green product. Fixation of price is very critical for developing a marketing strategy. Green marketing can be implemented by carefully selecting the price of the green product. Various researchers have revealed that numerous customers are ready to pay higher prices for green products as such products have higher green value, greater technical volume, and are beneficial for the customers’ health.
Considering this, the firm should fix higher prices for their green products. However, such prices are suitable only for short-term revenues. If companies are willing to take it as a long-term opportunity. In that case, they must invest in R&D operations to identify innovative ways of reducing costs by increasing the quality of green products.
3. Opening of the Green Channel
The route or passage through which a green product is transferred from the manufacturers to the consumers is known as the green marketing channel. A firm must build a good marketing channel to ensure the success of its green product.
The following aspects must be considered while selecting a green marketing channel:
- A firm must build proper mutual benefit relationships, monitor its green reputation, and encourage the green mindfulness of the middleman.
- A firm must be attentive toward the operations of its green marketing channel.
- The firm should establish notable sale enterprises, counters, or green commodity purchases with the concept of “giving back to nature” to attract customers and increase its reputation.
4. Implementation of Green Promotion
Companies must acknowledge that green demand determines green marketing. Thus, to ensure the success of green marketing, the firms need to increase the green demand by promoting and encouraging customers to buy green products through advertisements and media.
Green promotion can be done in the following ways:
i) Green Advertisement
With the help of advertisements, firms can demonstrate the functions of their green products to attract customers and form a green demand. Further, to encourage the customers’ desire to purchase, firms can also develop a green environment through green advertisements.
ii) Green Advocate
The firm can spread its green message through face-to-face customer meetings, demonstrating the functions of green products, resolving customers’ queries, and lecturing on the scenarios of green marketing and environmental benefits.
iii) Green Public Relations
The firm should set up a positive image for its green products in front of the public. For this purpose, the firm must develop healthy and green public relations by forecasting the green message into the minds and beliefs of the public.