[ECO-PRENEUR GUIDE] Expert tips to market your sustainable start-ups

Not all heroes wear capes. Some just build sustainable start-ups! We at UrbanMeisters have always supported eco-businesses. We’ve featured many budding green start-up brands in the fashion, home & lifestyle space, some of which have gone on to become big green hits. Like Guppy Friend laundry washing bag that has featured since in many renowned publications like TreeHugger & The Guardian. It has even been endorsed by cult outdoor wear brand Patagonia! Or Repack re-usable packaging that has won prestigious Nordic Council Environment Prize & has got selected for an accelerator program from luxury group Kering. We’ve also featured sustainable start-up advice for would be ‘eco-preneurs’ from those who have succeeded in their green ventures in our Meet the Founder features, like our exclusive with founder of Hamilton Perkins Collection. We have special features for women eco-preneurs too. From helping you build your start-up idea to helping you grow your start up, we are here for you.
Today we introduce a new special series dedicated to sustainable start-ups and their ‘eco-preneurs’ as we call them. Meet Cate Palmer who will be writing the special column Cate’s Eco-preneur Guide giving tips on how to market & grow your green start-ups in today’s digital age. Cate is an IT girl by day and a writer by night. Her fields of expertise could be summed up to web design and digital marketing. Her interests are, on the other hand, wide and ever-evolving. These days Cate is quite passionate about helping sustainable businesses in all aspects of online marketing. We kick-off this green column on her first feature on important tips to market your sustainable start-ups by building strong digital presence. Over to Cate with her expert advice for all sustainable start-ups.

Source: customs.gov.sg
Many businesses today have taken on the challenge of going green, and there’s a very good reason for it. Along with business related benefits, going green also creates a variety of benefits, from healthier environments to reducing unnecessary waste. To start an eco-friendly business means to take care of your customers and supporting our planet – so why shouldn’t you join the ranks of green entrepreneurs and sustainable start-ups? “Green” has created a whole new line of product and service opportunities for small businesses to explore, and if you’ve considered running a business focused on green products or services, green marketing can be a positive tactic for small sustainable start-ups in their overall marketing strategy.
 

Find your selling point

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First you need to see what your customers want. Having a business and just putting a sticker on it that says “green” won’t help. Although having a product or service which screams “low-energy solution”, “non-toxic ingredients”, or “recycled materials” helps a great deal, it just isn’t enough. Many people focus on how they can benefit from your product or service, and the fact that it is green only makes it a plus. Use social media and online publishing tools to spread your message and get people to know your business and eventually gain trust. By having online interactions with your customers, you’re building a community and gaining an audience that can rely on you.
 

Send your message

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If you want to market your small business, there’s nothing better than positive media coverage. Nothing beats a good press release article when it comes to sharing your message to the world and generating your businesses’ web traffic. According to SEO Brisbane experts, a good press release article should be:

• Headline focused
• Informative and engaging
• Catchy and edgy when required
• Written in the active voice that is required for your industry
• Has the right professional tone to match your company’s goals
• Correctly formatted and ready to submit to distribution services

Promotional products and logo

If you’re green, make use of a variety of logos and insignias for your marketing and company branding that represent green. This includes your website, advertising, marketing materials, signage, business cards, etc. A great way to get your message across is to use recycled materials for personalized business stationery such as pens, notepads, envelopes, cards, and notebooks. Recycled paper is an easy way to subtly demonstrate that your business is environmentally conscious. Most printing vendors offer an option to have marketing brochures, flyers or business cards printed on recycled paper that is almost as inexpensive as regular paper. UrbanMeisters, we’ll add to Cate’s fantastic green advice & tell you how your promotional materials can also be sustainble.
 

Online marketing

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Forget about old-fashioned marketing and invest all the money you’ve spared for it into online marketing. That way you’ll be more environmentally friendly – forget about sending direct mail or printed advertising. Placing ads online has never been easier today, so take advantage of it instead of wasting tons of paper. It’s an easy and inexpensive alternative which doesn’t produce waste or has a negative impact on the environment. Your best bet, however, is relying on social media. It’s become a vital point for every marketing campaign, and by building an audience you can spread your eco-friendly message across, as well as get feedback from your customers and have insight on what your customers want.
 

Transparency

It’s important to support every claim you make about your eco-friendly and environmentally safe business with strong facts, or else you’ll be labeled as a company which does “greenwashing”. While marketing your company as green has undisputed benefits, misrepresenting it can be detrimental to your success and credibility.

Source: businessnewsdaily.com
By not providing evidence, being vague or flat-out lying you won’t have a business that’ll last long because people will notice it, whether you like it or not. The best way to avoid these claims is to keep messages consistent and support every claim with incontrovertible evidence.
If growing an eco-friendly business is important to you, and you want to demonstrate to customers that choosing your business can make a difference with the environment, try some of the advice we’ve listed before. In no time, not only will you save money on your marketing strategy, you will also raise awareness to the environment and create a better place to live in, all while working what you love.
UrbanMeisters, these are great tips for growing your sustainable start-up and we’d like to give you an added bonus. A sustainable business needs a sustainable office so here are expert tips from our Founder Mirela Orlovic on how to make your office green and eco-friendly.
It’s not easy to grow a business & a green start-up at that is a double whammy. But we’’re here to help you in every way. Stay tuned for more tips in the next edition of Cate’s Eco-preneur Guide.