Campaigns often appeal to our better intentions and higher purpose but perhaps they need to focus on answering the question ‘what’s in it for me?’
There’s an arsenal of tools and advice to implement behaviour change tactics, and a wonderful array of pilots, initiatives and examples to learn from.
But getting consumers to act on their good intentions still represents the final frontier for sustainability. A study from National Geographic found that although the number of global consumers who say they are very concerned about the environment (61%) has increased since 2012, sustainable purchasing behaviour has actually decreased in key markets such as the US, Germany Japan and China. The great “value-action” gap between what consumers say in surveys and then actually do seems to be closing at a snail’s pace.
The Sustainable Lifestyles Frontier Group was established to confront this problem head on. Walmart, Disney, Waste Management, Carlsberg, eBay, L’Oréal, McDonald’s and Johnson & Johnson have spent a year digging into the problem of selling sustainability in partnership with BSR and Futerra. This group has uncovered a problem at the heart of sustainable marketing that’s both obvious and yet ubiquitous. Perhaps the accepted understanding of the value-action gap is actually missing something?
Survey after survey has asked consumers if they care and then bemoaned how those values don’t automatically impact consumer behaviours. Values, ethics and beliefs are of course hugely important for making major life decisions, but perhaps never will be when you’re choosing shampoo. Over the years, many sustainability campaigns have been appealing to our better intentions, from hotels primly requesting you hang your towels, to brands asking you to recycle for the “next generation”. The modus operandi is to cajole, coerce and guilt-trip us into doing the right thing, for the higher purpose of sustainability. That’s a lot of existential angst to load into a shopping basket. No wonder there is a gap here.
Our group believes that the values–action gap may be a red herring. In fact, the problem isn’t with values, but with value. The consumer values are just fine, it’s the value offered by brands that needs attention. For most sustainable products and behaviours the hard question of “what’s in it for me?” is still largely unanswered. Sustainable products and behaviours are better for the planet, but are they better for the person buying and practicing them? Until we have a good answer to that question then well-intentioned campaigns will continue to struggle.
Thankfully standard marketing has long known the three types of value we look for when buying a product or service:
1. Functional benefits are what a product or service tangibly does for you. This includes promises of value for money, performance, quality, efficacy, safety or ease of use. A recent example is Walmart’s new Sustainability Leaders badge system. In developing the program, Walmart has focused on providing functional benefits for consumers, by doing the homework for them. Walmart “badges” best in class brands based on Sustainability Consortium data, so that consumers can choose sustainable products easily, at the value price-points they are used to.
2. Emotional benefits deliver an intangible hit of feeling. Will this product inspire me, fulfil me, make me feel beautiful or smart? Participant Media has learned a thing or two about how to do this successfully, and it takes laser-focus, powerful execution, and feedback mechanisms that keep consumers engaged.
3. Social benefits make a statement about “me” to the world – that I’m cool, successful, or relevant. For example, research shows that many Prius drivers are motivated by the idea that driving this car demonstrates that they are modern, early-adopters who care about the environment.
Marketers still shy away from honing in on these benefits, relying on collective or planetary benefits instead. We have much work to do to find the human-centered value proposition that grounds sustainability efforts in consumer benefits.
We have some early hints of the messages that could breakthrough. Recycling is mainly a guilt-avoidance activity, but could it actually be a fun teachable moment with your kids? Eating sustainably can mean better tasting food and weight loss, with less pesticides or unhealthy food additives. Natural body care products may smell nicer and are gentle on sensitive skin. Washing your hair less or in a shorter shower maintains natural shine and prevents split ends. These are tiny benefits, but when was the last sustainability campaign that promised any direct personal benefits at all?
As a brand, whether you are trying to motivate behaviours or sell products, you need to start by asking “what’s in it for my customers?” Although vital, the question is an overlooked and under-explored component of successful behaviour change and marketing. By showing consumers what sustainability can do for them (rather than what they can do for sustainability), marketers can close the values-action gap a lot faster.
This article was taken from here.