Green Business Owners - Tell Your Story!

Are you a passionate, determined individual that has started a business offering a green product or service? Perhaps you have created a line of toys made from recycled materials, or skincare products without chemicals. Perhaps you provide permaculture landscape design consultations, or teach canning workshops.

As a green business owner you face unique challenges. Your products or services are often higher priced and not always seen as essential. It may be inconvenient (compared to mainstream options) to locate, purchase and use your products. For example, you may only sell your produce at the local farmers market once a week in the summer months. Those who purchase your vegetables need to further prepare them for consumption.

There are many benefits to telling your story. You build trust. In providing information in an ongoing, consistent manner about your products and services, customers see your long term commitment to the environment and to your business.

Customers understand your product better. For example, you could provide information on the ingredients you use and why you chose them, the steps you take to create your product and why you do these steps or how it should be used and its benefits.

Your products and services become essential in the customers mind. Knowledge is power. And as you educate customers about what you do and how you do it, they will become more committed to what you offer, and see mainstream options as less appealing.

Customers will become more committed to obtaining your product or service, and will make the necessary adjustments in their life to purchase it.

Consider a mainstream example. Think of a popular brand name figurine type toy. Visualize how it looks on the shelf of a big box store. It likely has bright colourful packaging and the figurines might be posed in some kind of scene. The figurine is well known - it may have a television show, movie(s) and/or books. If you were to purchase the toy you may find that although the package took up a lot of space on the shelf, the actual toy and included accessories really aren't that big. In this case, the brand name of the toy and the packaging created perceived value to help increase the appeal of this item.

When you tell your story you create perceived value around your products and services. No longer are you selling tomatoes, but you are selling heirloom tomatoes with amazing taste. By purchasing them your customers can help preserve diversity, feel pride in supporting a local farmer and feel comfortable feeding them to their family because of your sustainable or organic practices.

When you communicate your story you are communicating all of the intangible benefits of your product or service. As customers increase their understanding of these, they begin to understand the overall value of what you offer, and can see beyond the price tag.