We’ve all been there, right? The mountain of reusable bags we forget to take to the store. The burger that should have been plant-based. The over-packaged product you just splurged on. These gaps between intention and action manifest when we start to diet, to start a hobby, go to the gym and especially when we try to live sustainably. We are all a hot mess of un-met intentions.
Now, here’s where things get interesting. A Global Sustainability Study revealed that a whopping 50% of consumers rank sustainability within their top five drivers for value, especially millennials who consider sustainability a crucial criterion for making purchases. In fact, Google’s search trends team tells us that searches related to living a sustainable lifestyle have skyrocketed by a staggering 4500% since 2019.
But there seems to be a misalignment between consumers and retail executives when it comes to perspective of willingness to pay for sustainable products. Surprisingly, while 66% of consumers claim they are willing to pay more for sustainability, a striking 66% of retail executives believe otherwise. Now that’s the real gap.
Because rather than gap, consumers face giant barriers. Reframing from gaps (which imply something missing in consumer morality), to barriers (which aren’t consumers fault) is empowering for business. The barriers range from price, availability, and structural factors that require infrastructure change, to myths, awareness, and availability, that can marketers can tackle.
To bust these barriers, we need to ask ourselves a crucial question when promoting a product, service, or action: Are we effectively selling the benefits? Because only benefits can bust through barriers. Let’s break it down into three key categories of benefits – functional, emotional, and social:
Functional benefits play a crucial role in selling sustainable products. Consider how sustainability can add value for money, enhance performance and efficacy, improve quality, save time, or contribute to safety. Understanding and emphasising these functional benefits can make sustainable choices more appealing to consumers.
Emotional benefits are equally important. As retailers, it’s essential to acknowledge that the consumer is the hero, not us. The feel-good factor associated with buying sustainable products can be a significant motivator. Does sustainability strengthen sensory enjoyment, provide physical comfort, offer an exciting experience, boost self-worth, or offer a sense of personalisation? These emotional benefits can truly make a difference in consumers’ decision-making.
Finally, let’s not forget about social benefits. How does sustainability impact family dynamics, desirability in the eyes of others, the perception of being cool, smart, or part of a community? Highlighting these social benefits can create a sense of belonging and encourage individuals to embrace sustainable choices.
Research backs up the value of sustainability in driving consumer behaviour. A joint five-year study by McKinsey and NielsenIQ in the US found that products with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria experienced disproportionate growth. Moreover, sustainable products accounted for 50% of sales growth among consumer-packaged goods (CPG) between 2013 and 2018, despite representing less than 17% of the market. It’s clear that sustainability sells and that sustainable products are gaining traction faster than their non-sustainable counterparts.
Sometimes, it’s about framing sustainability in a way that highlights the benefits rather than focusing solely on the sustainability aspect. Take the example of plant-based milk. Instead of fixating on giving up cow’s milk, marketers highlighted its benefits for performance training, using endorsements from athletes like Arnold Schwarzenegger. By showcasing how plant-based options offer better digestion and improved performance, they successfully appealed to a broader audience, particularly men. We can achieve sustainable goals by emphasising the benefits without explicitly mentioning sustainability.
The intention-action gap may not be as wide as it seems. By understanding and addressing the barriers that hinder sustainable behavior, we can bridge this gap effectively. By focusing on functional, emotional, and social benefits, and by reframing sustainability in appealing ways, we can inspire individuals to embrace sustainable choices without compromising their values or desires.
And it might work on getting you to the gym, too.