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Call Us: 01494 538 511
Published: 21 February 2020
Nowadays, businesses are judged heavily on their carbon footprint and their influence towards benefiting the environment and moving towards a greener future. Businesses also look to push eco-friendly and sustainable products, but the big question is, do customers actually prefer eco-friendly products?
Increasingly, that means choosing eco-friendly products. The challenge is to choose the right product to convey the right message at the right price.
Whether customers prefer them or not, it is something the world must adapt to in order to benefit the environment. The success of sustainable brands clearly demonstrates that many consumers are willing to “vote with their wallets” and pay extra for products and services which can demonstrate real sustainability credentials.
Most customers will always look for the cheapest alternative, however if they know that their extra investment in a product will more than likely benefit the environment for the sake of a bit of extra cash, they’re more than likely to do it.
Given that they can afford to walk away from paying for cheaper products with lower standards, they can certainly afford to walk away from taking a free gift which does not meet their ethical expectations. The very act of offering such a gift can actually tarnish your brand rather than boost it.
At this point in time, anything which is a “disposable-plastic-alternative product” has the potential to be a great promotional gift. The only issue is cost. Even the likes of reusable bags, metal straws and metal (or bamboo) cutlery can work out expensive in large quantities.
There is also the fact that these are exactly the sorts of items which people are likely to buy for themselves in any case. If you start moving upwards to the likes of travel cups and refillable water bottles, you would probably need quite a large budget to go for the sustainable options.
That being so, many companies go for products which are designed to be consumed. These can be anything from “disguised essentials” (such as stationery items made in a sustainable manner) to food and drink items to seeds.
In theory, the only limit is your imagination (and your budget). In practice, many companies stick to food and drink items as they are appreciated by almost everyone and provide a fun experience at a reasonable cost.
Corporate food and drink also works when it comes the longevity of a marketing strategy, especially if you're considering including promotional confectionery during seasonal periods such as Christmas, Easter and even sporting events.
When it comes to seasonal confectionery, we've all been there where we're cleaning up cardboard boxes and plastic packaging from Easter Eggs or Advent Calendars but now there is an alternative.
If you're thinking of gifting clients a special gift to countdown to Christmas, we recommend taking a look at our range eco-friendly advent calendars, which includes Lindt advent calendars, Milka and many more!
You could opt to make your packaging reusable, for example, by presenting it in a beautiful and functional gift tin, but again, this can require a fairly significant budget. The other alternative is to go for packaging which can be recycled (or is fully biodegradable), but make sure that this directs people to your website and/or social media platform(s), thus giving you the opportunity to deepen your connection with them.
Obviously, people are only going to visit you online if you give them a good reason to do so. This means that it’s a good idea to offer some sort of time-limited incentive, like a competition or prize draw.
The prizes don’t have to be big, they just have to be appealing (and, of course, in line with your corporate values). Just make sure that when someone does visit you online, there’s plenty of great content to reward them for their click and keep it regularly updated to encourage them to make frequent return visits.
Feel free to browse our sustainable corporate products and suprise customers and clients with gifts that not only taste good but are socially responsible too!
