Volume 12, Issue 9
Dear Reader,
Spring continues to share its ever changing colorful bounty across New York City.
The varieties of yellow, orange and white daffodils, early harbingers of warmer weather, have given way to deep red, yellow and purple tulips across parks and green areas along sidewalks.
► Earth Day: How Recycling Helps Your Business
Influenced by Rachel Carson’s The Silent Spring published in 1962, Earth Day, celebrated on April 22nd, started in 1970 to raise awareness of air and water pollution and led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Act.
Since plastic is one of the biggest pollution problems, Eathday.org called for a 60% reduction in global plastic production by 2040 with their 2024 theme of “Planet versus Plastics” :
- About half of all plastic ever produced happened the past 13 years. The Pacific Ocean has a floating body of plastic twice the size of Texas. By 2050, plastic may outweigh fish in the ocean.
- Plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to decompose. (Source: Yahoo)
Why should marketers care about Earth Day?
Because it provides measurable business opportunities.
Green businesses need to hyper-scale providing opportunities for zero-carbon technologies, materials, and services. According to McKinsey:
- $12 trillion potential annual sales will be generated by high potential green offerings by 2030.
- $3.5 trillion in additional annual investment in net-zero assets will be made through 2050.
On a personal level, follow these 4 environmentally-friendly suggestions (Source: NPR):
- Cut back on plastic use at home and away. Audit your use at home and on-the-go to determine how much plastic you use. Then find ways to substitute sustainable materials and options.
- Switch to clean energy at home, even better it reduces costs long-term. Among the major energy-efficient products are induction stoves, clothes dryers with “Energy Star” which use 20% less energy, and heat pumps which are 2-3 times more efficient.
- Eat responsibly. While you don’t need to become a vegan or vegetarian, follow these recommendations:
Ensure that seafood was caught and/or harvested in a sustainable manner to protect the ecosystem.
Eat less meat since meat production takes a big toll on the environment. Also, cows produce a lot of methane gas in the form of burps.
Freeze produce you can’t use and compost scraps after use since about 8% of greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste. Many communities offer locations for composting.
- Stop, or at least reduce, fast fashion purchases since a mere 1% of clothing actually gets recycled into new clothing while 85% of it winds up in landfills. Fast fashion uses about 79 trillion liters of water and generates 92 million tons of waste. (Source: NPR)Buy second hand clothes and mend garments to extend their life. Also, hand wash clothes where appropriate instead of dry cleaning.
Actionable Marketing Tips
- Promote your organization’s work towards being more environmentally green. For example, many buildings in New York City have an environmental rating on them. Also, some retailers collect and recycle a variety of products such as Staples which collects electronics.For example, I’ve bought Aviator Jeans, made by a small Los Angeles based company. They fit well and are great for travel since they have deep front pockets and hidden back zipper pockets. Here’s how they promoted Earth Day in their email marketing.
- Create an event related to your business or location that helps your customers and community do more for the environment. For example, sponsor clean up of a local site.
Recommended Reading
► Location: Do Physical Retail Stores Matter?
As one of the marketing 4Ps, place matters a lot especially when it comes to retail locations. For some customers, visiting your store is an important activity in their lives. It gets them out of their home and puts them in contact with people.
From a marketing perspective, assess how to best use your retail locations as a competitive advantage over e-commerce only retailers such as Amazon.
Shoppers buy some product categories at retail more than others so know your audience’s preferences. Consumers buy the following products at retail over e-commerce:
- 76.5% buy food and beverages at retail. Most customers want to see their what’s available and its condition. This is especially true for products like fruit, vegetables and meats.
- 75.2% get their household supplies at retail. Often, it’s part of another shopping trip to the supermarket or other store such as Home Depot.
- 65.4% buy health and personal care products at retail. In addition to being part of a trip to pick up prescriptions, it allows for easy product comparison.
• Physical Stores Aid Purchase
About one-third of US shoppers buy an item immediately when they find a product in a store, more than buy online. Also, they make impulse purchases. (Source: emarketer.com)
Retail stores can provide shoppers with good experiences. Having knowledgeable staff that understands your products to guide customers.
Further, for many buyers, shopping is a form of entertainment. For example, I love going into LEGO stores.
Heidi Cohen in the LEGO Taxi on Fifth Avenue
Actionable Retail Location Marketing Tips
- Offer related and/or impulse items near check out. Supermarkets have put candy and magazines next to the cashier for years. BUT—Take care when selecting these items in terms of relevance to your typical shopper and price point.For example, when I shopped at Marshall’s this past weekend, they put a $400 coffee maker in their checkout product area. The couple in front of me thought it was funny since $400 isn’t an impulse purchase at the popularly priced US chain.
- Create additional in-store opportunities with seasonal or clearance items. Use signage and in-store placement to highlight these items. Place them near the entrance to your store.
- Use your store window to spotlight your best merchandise. Add a QR code so passersby can look it up when your retail location is closed.
Recommended Reading
• Customers Use Mobile Information While Shopping At Retail
Buyers have used their smartphones while shopping for years since it allows them to quickly and easily compare the products to the same or substitute options.
The top 3 reasons for mobile comparison shopping are:
- 72% Compare prices to other options.
- 69% Check customer reviews.
- 52% Seek detailed product information.
Actionable Retail Location Marketing Tips
- Use these mobile categories to guide online content marketing creation and maintenance. Ensure that this content renders on a variety of mobile devices. Where relevant, add QR codes to help shoppers to find the information on your brand’s website.
Recommended Reading
• Physical Stores Provide Important Customer Experiences
For customers, shopping in your store enhances their purchase experience for roughly 2 out of 5 buyers.
Further, experiencing your physical locations improves results according to global retail executives.
- 38% Believed it increased prospect conversion.
- 31% Thought it improved customer loyalty and increased repeat purchases.
- 28% Found it enhanced brand awareness.
Actionable Retail Location Marketing Tips
- Hire and train sales associates to be friendly and helpful to prospects and customers. Help them to deal with difficult customers.
- Offer customers reasons to return to your store. Where appropriate, create special events related to your products. For example, book stores have authors do reading.
Recommended Reading
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Happy Marketing,
Heidi
P.S.: Want Heidi Cohen to contribute a quote or other commentary to your next article, presentation, video, research, or book? Then hit reply to this email and ask.
P.P.S: Did you miss our last AMG Newsletter?
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