The Industry Summit 5.0: Experts Give Tips on How Sustainable Marketing Will Accelerate Growth

Marketing professionals and sustainability experts across various industries have given some recommendations on how sustainable marketing will accelerate the growth of brands.

The experts shared the tips recently at the 2024 edition of The Industry Summit with theme “Sustainable Marketing for Growth” held at Marcellina Event, Ikeja, GRA, Lagos State.

Some of the experts at the fifth edition of the summit include Emmanuel Oriakhi, Marketing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc; Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, Head of Unit, Sustainability, Access Bank; Rita Akao, Manager, Brand, Strategy & Communications, Stanbic IBTC; Chioma Mbanugo, Head of Marketing PZ WILMAR; Victoria Uwadoka, Public Relations, Public Affairs & Sustainability Lead, Nestle Nigeria; among others.

The communique of the event made available to Brand Times highlights the submissions of the experts. Below are the insights they shared:

• Innovative marketing requires that a company innovates by producing new products and services while improving and updating existing ones. This strategy often ensures that companies continuously identify better ways to develop and market products and services

• Companies adopt innovative methods through new product development, product packaging, positioning strategies, specifications, market segmentation, customer value, delivery of goods and customer satisfaction. Enlightened marketers and sustainable businesses understand how to market new products or enter new markets successfully. They also know that the perfect way to grow and achieve success is always to offer consumers what they want.

• Sense-of-mission marketing is a strategy companies use to set out a broad social mission they can follow as a guide. Every company has a social responsibility, which often reflects in its mission. In sense-of-mission marketing, the mission represents the company’s social responsibility and culture and helps it ensure that all its social responsibilities are positive. A sustainable company can rely on this strategy to make decisions about its image, marketing content, business model, strategies for creativity and relationships with stakeholders.

• A societal marketing strategy requires a company to identify a problem within society and market how it contributes to solving the problem. This is based on the fact that companies make their decisions considering the consumers’ wants, the company’s requirements, and society’s long-term interests. It’s, therefore, necessary that companies are proactive in their marketing strategies and show how they intend to use their products or services to impact society positively.Neglecting society or consumers’ long-term interests is unfavourable to them both. Sustainable companies already know that they’re bound to their consumers and society at large. For example, using this marketing strategy, an electric car company advert might show how its products reduce air pollution.

• Meeting Customer Priorities: With increasing awareness about environmental and social issues, customers prioritize sustainability when making purchasing decisions. Sustainable products offer long-term value and positive impacts, aligning with customers’ desire to support environmentally and socially responsible brands. Studies indicate that a substantial portion of consumers are willing to switch brands if they perceive a lack of sustainability, underscoring the importance of integrating sustainable practices into marketing strategies.

• Enhanced Brand Awareness and Reputation: Brands that embrace sustainable marketing strategies often enjoy heightened visibility and acceptance within communities that value sustainability. When a brand aligns with customers’ values and priorities, it fosters stronger connections and loyalty. Positive word-of-mouth and recommendations further amplify brand exposure, potentially reaching new audiences who share similar sustainability concerns.

• Driving Positive Change: Sustainable marketing goes beyond promoting products; it fosters a culture of responsibility and accountability within businesses. By engaging in meaningful, socially and environmentally conscious marketing campaigns, companies can educate customers about important issues and inspire them to adopt sustainable practices. This not only benefits the environment and society but also cultivates a sense of purpose and goodwill around the brand.

• Accessing New Markets and Customers: Integrating sustainable marketing into business strategies opens doors to new markets, particularly among the growing segment of conscious consumers. These consumers actively seek out brands that support their values and causes, presenting opportunities for businesses to expand their customer base and increase market share. By appealing to this demographic, companies can tap into previously untapped markets and drive revenue growth.

• A brand claiming sustainability but lacking genuine practices risks losing stakeholders’ trust. Building a sustainable business entails getting involved in sustainability initiatives that can help you easily connect with your target audience. There is a need to maintain alignment between your brand’s philosophy and activities by regularly evaluating practices, partnerships, and team culture, refining sustainability efforts and prioritizing transparency to foster stakeholder trust.

• Define your brand’s unique value proposition beyond financial gains, focusing on your broader missions and impact. Reflect on your business’s purpose beyond transactions, evaluating its role in the community and society at large. Value creation takes precedence over immediate profits in sustainable marketing. Engage customers throughout their journey, offering continuous value beyond the point of sale. Implement strategies like educational email campaigns or product recycling initiatives to enhance customer experience and foster long-term loyalty.,

• Educating your audience is fundamental to sustainable marketing success. Some current or potential customers may not know about sustainable marketing. Educating them on this topic is another way of telling your story. By communicating the benefits and importance of your sustainable practices clearly and persuasively, you can help your customers understand why the service or product you’re marketing is better than other alternatives. Use content to differentiate your products/services, ensuring customers understand the value of choosing YOU.

• Consistently practice sustainable marketing by integrating it into all aspects of company operations, from brand values to packaging, initiating changes in sourcing, packaging, and operations while prioritizing customer preferences, environmental impact, and documenting all actions taken or planned.

• Utilize storytelling as a powerful sustainable marketing strategy by documenting sustainable actions taken by your business. Gather data about your production process to enhance credibility. Incorporate these stories across social media, blogs, and …

• The economic challenge affects every player in the economy it is only when we come together that we can tackle the challenges and forge a way going forward.

• It is important to know that we cannot talk about fixing an industry without addressing the problems each individual group in the industry face to be able to fashion out a holistic solution to the total group.

• Sustainable marketing ensures that marketers adopt ways of ensuring that the expectations are met.

• As consumers are becoming more conscious of their environmental imprint, sustainable marketing is becoming more important.

• There are so much the consumers want from brand and so as brand managers, what we are giving in terms of value should be beyond what we are getting from the consumers.

• Sustainability is a journey which has not arrived at its destination but it up to all of us to find a way to make impact to the consumers and the environment at large.

• There are different consumers with varying expectations there is therefore the need to create products that meet them at their various need.

• Social media is playing a huge role in ensuring that every conversation is brought to the fore, hence brand managers should take advantage of this to put their brand in front of the people and to control the narratives.