Sustainability and Marketing - a Happy Marriage in 2007?

With the help of CIM's North West PR Officer I have done what I set out to do with this blog and written an article -

There’s no doubting sustainable business development, or to put it in its official context; ‘where a business uses natural resources in an efficient manner, so that the company’s operations do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ is one of the marketing’s most hotly debated topics - from the water cooler to the boardroom. Over the last few years, we’ve all become more aware of what sustainability actually is, how it impacts on our profitability and the impact we, as individuals and businesses, have on the environment…. Haven’t we?

In its Marketing Trends Survey, which was commissioned in winter 2006, The Chartered Institute of Marketing, found that whilst over three-quarters of marketers believed that a company’s sustainability practices will increasingly affect customers’ buying decisions, only a third felt that environmental and social practices were a major issue. If you think about it, there’s a slight conflict going on here!

The statistics clearly show that customers are influenced by sustainability and with the fundamentals of marketing being based on understanding and responding to target audiences, it’s essential for all companies, if they want to economically viable, to respond by implementing strong internal and external communication that convey its credentials.

To discuss and inform this issue, The Chartered Institute of Marketing has created two workshops to specifically give an overview of sustainability and to assess the implications for the profession.

‘Sustainability in Marketing’ is a one-day workshop aimed at all marketing personnel and agency advisors. It will give an understanding of the key issues that underpin sustainability and will help marketers create a framework for achieving it in practice. Whilst ‘Developing a Sustainable Marketing Strategy’ is a two-day workshop for marketing managers and strategic advisors who want the chance to assess the implications of sustainability for marketing and develop appropriate responses and initiatives. Further details of both workshops can be found by visiting www.cim.co.uk/training

Diane Earles, regional director for the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the North, said ‘The more I investigate the role of marketing in this arena, the more amazed I am at how much ground there is to cover. There are some real pioneers, at both end of the business spectrum, from Tesco with its ‘double green points’ initiative to www.recycleworks.co.uk. This website was set up to address the issue of recycling in the family and is inviting, easy to use and inspirational. From transparent costings to personalised emails and additional marketing literature – everything was geared to me as the customer and my drivers, whilst still being clearly commercially focused.’

Diane concluded; ‘I’ve set up a blog where I’m documenting my findings and I’d be keen to hear from other marketers at http://directorscut.cim-nw.org.uk/).’

Marketing doesn't have to be complicated to be effective, but marketers must think about what they are doing and how they treat their customers - after all marketing is all about building relationships.