Sometimes when companies are exploring new ways to be sustainable and energy conserving, they become stumped because they keep analysing ways to change their current product. They must look beyond the physical product and directly at the customer’s needs and wants that were satisfied. If a company can make any product or design change to still take care of their customer, they’re in business!
In this post, we’ll be studying the importance of fulfilling customer solutions rather than attempting to mutate a product. By going beyond a customer’s current wants and needs, we ask ourselves, “what kind of services are they really getting out of the product?” and “can we turn that good into a service”? From shared Google docs to Netflix to online shopping, people have been revolutionizing buyer behaviour in the most appealing of ways. They have targeted real needs and created efficiencies for both company and consumer. The movie, TV and music industry are great examples of how much raw material has been saved from stopping production of CDs, DVDs, VHRs, players and of course, storefronts. We are optimizing the Internet world and slowly, almost everything is being converted from real to virtual. Rather than rethinking the production process of these materials, companies are striking directly into the need to watch movies in a mobile manner. Customers are happier than ever with the convenience and ease of using services like Netflix and Shomi.
However, there are some established big-name brands that can’t help but keep their product because that IS their business. McDonalds and resource extraction companies are some of the few that are constantly under fire for unsustainable and Earth damaging behaviour inherent to the business. For this reason, they have found alternative services such as carbon-offsetting and setting programs in developing countries.
Referenced from:
1) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/sustainable-marketing-solutions-24063.html
2) http://weareinnovative.ca/whats-on-our-minds/creating-a-sustainable-marketing-strategy