Reaching the Green Furniture Consumer, the Marketing to Women Way
Does this “green” or sustainable thing really matter to today’s consumers? I think it does, and recently came across a great article by Leslie Carothers in Furniture Today that is a must-read for any marketer still wrestling with the question. In it, she takes the reader from the misperceptions to the truths, and her suggestions for how to approach this new type of buyer. What most struck me was that while Carothers claims to counter the myth that women are the key green consumer, her descriptions of what matters to this new furniture consumer – and how they buy – tells me that marketers should still be focused on women’s ways of buying. Here are a few reasons why, based on what she mentions:
LC: These consumers were digging for every last shred of information I could give them on sustainably sourced materials used in furniture production. They were VERY particular about the authenticity of the story. Greenwashing is on their radar and they are DEMANDING verification. My point: Women are the original beyond price and facts, information-seeking, authenticity-testing, demanding consumers.
LC: Consumers took a LOT OF TIME with me talking about what constituted sustainable furnishings. They sat down, asked questions, listened and asked more questions. My point: Women are known to take their time and dig for more/want to be educated with significant purchases.
You also must be AUTHENTIC and PROVE your green message to the CONSUMER’s SATISFACTION (not yours) BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT. My point: Women have always looked under the radar of a brand’s messaging and been suspicious of “glowing” claims, even when the price/features were right.
One very effective way Carothers mentions to deliver your entire green/sustainable approach is a long-held key to effectively reaching women, as well: storytelling. My favorite definition of its power comes from Robert McKee’s book Story wherein he discusses how “Big T Truth is located behind, beyond, inside, below the surface of things, holding reality together or tearing it apart, and cannot be directly observed.“ Storytelling is what makes facts into Big T Truth – and it is all those things, more information, authenticity, lots of time pondering, that are above and beyond the brand/product basics. And, those are what hold the reality of any brand’s “green story” together.
I’ve been thinking on the sustainably-oriented/values-based buyer for a presentation I’ll be giving next month at Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s Spring Conference. So, Carothers piece simply added more vim to my existing vigor on the topic. Women may or may not be the wholly visible or significantly measurable consumers interested in your green message, BUT their ways of buying are evidenced throughout. Marketing to women, with no need to mention that women part (just do it), IS how you reach the new sustainably-oriented buyer.
