Gone are the days when sustainability was niche. Consumers expect brands and businesses to do better when it comes to protecting the environment. According to research, 96% of businesses said that they are feeling increasing pressure to become more sustainable, and 86% expect their sales to grow over the next year thanks to a greater focus on sustainability.
What does this mean for digital marketing agencies? Firstly, it’s likely your teams will be tasked with more campaigns that highlight your client’s sustainability efforts. Secondly, it requires agencies to rethink how they themselves operate and the impact that might have on the environment.
Why is sustainable marketing important?
If your clients fail to adopt sustainable marketing it’s clear that they risk losing their customers. 47% of consumers walk away from brands that fail to take a stand on sustainability, with 17% never returning.
People have been putting more effort into becoming more eco-friendly and protective of the environment; they expect the businesses they buy from to do the same.
It allows your clients to be transparent
Transparency is important for businesses that want to build trust and a good reputation. When you openly share information about how a business operates, consumers will thank you for it. Over 90% of consumers say transparency by a brand is important to their purchase decisions.
Businesses that are transparent tend to see more loyalty from their customers. And it’s not just about letting customers know where and how products are made. If you’re marketing a business that provides a service, transparency also includes letting customers know how their data is handled.
Listen to your audience
A large part of the role of a digital marketer is to listen to what the audience is saying. A lot of the decisions you make are based on the thoughts and opinions of the audience you’re targeting. Whether that’s done through social listening, research, or feedback; your client expects you to know exactly what the audience wants.
There’s been a 71% rise in online searches for sustainable goods globally over the past five years. It’s clear what consumers want and as digital marketers it’s important to feed this information back to your clients. Marketing that’s informed by data and focused on the future is successful marketing.
Lead by example
By its very nature digital marketing is more sustainable than traditional marketing. Campaigns are created online as opposed to paper. Flyers and direct mail are replaced by email. You get the idea.
What more can your digital marketing agency do to reduce your impact on the environment? Consider choosing green hosting for your website, transferring large files instead of attaching them to emails, and using refurbished equipment and furniture in your office.
Optimise your client reporting
When client reporting is done the old way, it can involve sending data heavy emails around your team, using multiple platforms, and printing out spreadsheets to work from. Not just that, but you end up spending too much time working on your reports. This results in increased energy usage, that’s electrical energy and your own!
Say hello to a new way of client reporting. Spend 75% less time on client reporting with reports that are easy to create and share. With Coact you can do all your client reporting efficiently on one platform. Book a demo today.
