Tensie Whelan and Randi Kronthal-Sacco of the New York University Stern Center for Sustainable Business write in the Harvard Business Review, "Consumers are voting with their dollars against unsustainable brands. The legacy companies that will thrive are those that accept this shift and are willing to pivot.”
For Boston small business owners who are skeptical that sustainability affects purchase decisions, retail analyst Stacey Widlitz provided this advice, recently, in Forbes.
"Retailers only need to look to IBM's recent study, in association with the National Retail Federation, to understand just how fast consumer priorities are changing," says Ms. Widlitz. "Findings from the study revealed nearly 60% of consumers surveyed are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact. For the nearly 80% of respondents who said sustainability is important to them over 70% would pay a premium of 35% on average."
To compete for a share of consumers' spending on green goods and services requires local small business owners to advertise.
“Think you have a great product?” asks the U.S. Small Administration. "Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise. Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business”.
For local small business owners, the best way to reach eco-conscious customers is with advertising on Boston radio.
Most importantly, advertising on Boston radio can reach the most local consumers willing to pay a premium price for eco-friendly goods and services.
Consumers of every age buy eco-friendly goods and services. It's millennials, though, who dominate the market.
According to Nielsen, "Ninety percent of millennials, ages 21 to 34, said they are more willing to pay more for products that contain environmentally friendly or sustainable ingredients. Another 86% of millennials said they would pay more for products with organic/natural ingredients, and 80% said they would pay more for products with social responsibility claims. The percentages for baby boomers, ages 50 to 64, were 61% for environmentally friendly or sustainable ingredients, 59% for organic/natural ingredients and 48% for products with social responsibility claims. Millennials, at 53%, were more likely than baby boomers, at 34%, to say they would be willing to forego a brand in order to buy environmentally friendly products."
Many local business owners are surprised to learn that advertising on Boston radio can reach a substantially larger number of local millennial consumers than all other media.
Boston consumers have developed an appetite for sustainable goods and services. Every year they buy millions of dollars more than they did the year before.
"A good product is no longer enough to win a consumer's favor," writes Remi Rosemarin in Inside Business. "Shoppers want more than just quality, often looking for products and brands that align with their personal values."
Advertising on Boston radio is particularly well-suited to deliver a local small business owner's message of sustainability to consumers who will pay a premium for eco-friendly products.