Talking Green with Your Customers – Consumer Products Companies

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on December 6th, 2009
“Talking green” with your customers means understanding their businesses and their business needs. Last summer we posted a piece called “Talking Green with Your Retail Customers and Prospects,” today we’re targeting consumer products companies.
The Boston Consulting Group has published a terrific report, “Capturing the Green Advantage for Consumer Companies,” that gives an insight into the challenges they face. Here’s what BCG has to say:

Concerns about the sustainability of resources and the safety of what we put into and on our bodies have become a staple of the mainstream media. As a result, green – the global catch-all term for everything good for the environment – has become a significant factor in where consumers shop and what they buy.
But will consumers continue to care about green issues now that the economy has taken a nosedive? That’s the question companies the world over are asking as they consider past investments in green strategies and plan for the years ahead. The answer, our research convinces us, is a resounding yes.


Tucked into the report you will find ten best practices for gaining a green advantage. Note that these are useful for any company, not just a consumer products company:

1. Factor sustainability into strategy, future resources, and budgets
2. Make the rules, don’t just follow them
3. Make a clear business case for sustainability issues
4. Go green across the full value chain
5. Target early wins to build momentum, credibility, and motivation
6. Embed green goals into incentives and reporting structures
7. Make sure consumers understand why your green product is superior to all the others
8. Get the pricing right
9. Direct green efforts from the top and get buy-in from key stakeholders
10. Be consistent in order to be credible

Get your copy of the report, “Capturing The Green Advantage for Consumer Companies.“