Additional Articles for January/February 2004 Issue
It’s time to start a “Green”
business—Why now? Why green?
If you are in business or thinking about going into business, it’s time to put a “Green” label on what you are selling. Why? Demographics—pure and simple.
According to those who get paid to study this stuff, Americans
are changing—and
along with them, how and why Americans spend their time and money
is changing. These huge worldview changes bring with them enormous
business
opportunities on a par with the opportunities offered up by the
Industrial Revolution 150 years ago.
Consider this: according to a gentleman named Paul Ray, an anthropologist/sociologist
who’s made a good living studying Americans values, lifestyles
and spending habits, there are really three American world-views out
there right now. And, Ray tells us, two of the three Americas are past
their prime, on the downhill slide to obsolescence. The message for you
entrepreneurs? Sell primarily to them and watch your market stagnate
and whither. The third segment, though presently marginalized, is gaining
preeminence fast. Market to this group and you’ll enjoy better
than average growth potential for the same effort.
Understanding the three Americas, taking a closer look
The oldest of the three American cultural groups, which Ray labels
the Heartlanders, shares a faith-based worldview and looks to the
past for
solutions to today’s problems. Although this group was once the
majority segment of our society, it has lost ground steadily during the
industrial 20th century. This segment, currently about 29% of Americans,
is shrinking rapidly. Warning: market primarily to this group and watch
your business dwindle—unless you live in Amish country!
The majority value/behavior system at the moment is one
Ray calls Modernist. If an institution or business is large and
established,
chances are
it’s
Modernist in outlook. Taken as a whole, television is Modernist. Wal-Mart
is Modernist. So are the Wall Street Journal, CNN, United
Way, and most other mainstream things. Modernists comprise nearly
half of all of us
and believe that the good life, progress and happiness flow from
material wealth. Modernists also believe in solving the world’s problems
by tinkering with the present system—nothing radical, please.
As this market segment is big and powerful it would make sense
to design your next business venture to cater to it, right? Not
necessarily.
Although
this ideological segment is currently the largest, it is well served
by far more established enterprises than yours. Besides, this demographic
group is not growing and its influence is waning steadily.
From a business development viewpoint, the hot population segment
is one Ray calls the Cultural Creatives. Who are these folks who
will
shortly become the new mainstream? If you want to catch the wave,
here’s
what you need to know. Cultural Creatives are 60 percent female, 40 percent
male, have larger than average family incomes but come from all walks
of life. These folks are information hungry and get what they want by
reading, listening to the radio and talking to those they respect. They
don’t watch much TV; it’s not reflecting their interests,
remember. This ever-larger group believes in ecological sustainability,
community-based initiatives, civil rights for women and others,
authenticity and self-actualization. It is optimistic and has a
social conscience.
This group is willing to spend its money and time in ways it believes
will help the condition of the world.
But if there are so darn many of them, where are they?
According to Ray, we don’t see much of this group yet because it
is the job of the current cultural mainstream to keep them marginalized.
As a whole, this group is unaware that it even is a group and therefore
it is unaware of its power and doesn’t even have a common
language for its beliefs.
The practical upshot of this demographic stuff is that the market
is changing. People, more and more of them all the time, are tying
their
work, home and social lives together.
They get their information from reading, from the radio, from first-hand
exploration and from their friends. And other things being equal,
they are voting their conscience with the coins in their pockets.
Remember,
although these folks don’t comprise an easily identifiable
culture yet, they will soon be the new mainstream, demanding integrity,
authenticity
and quality.
Green Marketing 101
So for you intrepid entrepreneurial souls who want to try marketing
to the future, what works and what doesn’t? According to Jacquelyn
Ottman, a consultant who has dedicated much of her work to helping the
rest of us understand the Green Revolution, the opportunities for success
are matched only by opportunities for misstep. In a speech, available
in its entirety on the Internet, entitled, The Rules of Green
Marketing Eco-Design,
Eco-Innovation and the Customer: Lessons from the Green Graveyard,
she illustrates what works by examining what has failed. If you
want to read
about the Edsels of Green check out www.GreenMarketing.com.
Here you’ll
also find her helpful book, Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation offered
as a free PDF download.
In short, here are Ottman’s rules:
- Consumers must already care about the environmental problem your product purports to help. Research has shown that folks prefer “pesticide free” foods to foods that “reduce topsoil erosion,” for example; market accordingly.
- Customers need to feel that using your product will make a difference. Maytag noticed this and instead of marketing their front-load washer as energy efficient—who really notices a few dollars off an electric bill? —Maytag marketed this power miser as doing a better, gentler job of cleaning. This we would notice; or think we would notice!
- Customers must believe your claims. See Number 2, above, “I just know I see a difference already!”
- Customers need to feel your product will work as well as or better than non-green alternatives. See Number 2 again.
- Customers must feel they can
afford any price premium over the competition. Because Maytag has a
reputation for good quality,
is selling a product
that’s better at cleaning, gentler and cheaper to operate
than the non-green competition, Maytag found its product was
successful in the market.
Interested in going green? Start reading!
There are heaps of good quality resources out there on the Web. Some of it is pricey, like the $5,000 study I found at one site. And plenty of it is free or inexpensive. Here are some of my favorites:
BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, resources for building strong local living economies by sharing best practices with others, www.ballenetwork.org. BALLE will be launching a local marketplace section at the Web site, www.Livingeconomies.org.
Co-op America promotes socially and environmentally responsible business and investment. Its publication, The National Green Pages, a source book for Green products and services, is searchable online at www.greenpages.org. Co-op America also promotes socially responsible investing through www.socialinvest.org. They also publish a quarterly business newsletter.
Some of Paul Ray’s work can be seen at www.culturalcreatives.org. He’s also written a book called The Integral Culture.
GreenBiz.com features Green business tips and tools.
In Business Magazine explores the universe of small, sustainable businesses. Order a free trial issue online at www.jgpress.com.
The Institute for Local Self Reliance at www.ilsr.org, helps locally owned businesses and small business alliances.
Kristina King is a market grower of authentically raised fruits, vegetables and heirloom plants and is the leader of Slow Food International in Maine. She consults on a range of seemingly unrelated issues, such as visual merchandising, space planning, landscaping and market development. You may reach her by email at <onemorninginmaine@yahoo.com>, or by calling 596.0248.