Here’s a modern day aisle scene: A couple turns the corner, entering the pastel land of baby shampoos. He’s pushing the shopping cart filled with healthy groceries, diapers, a stuffed animal and their sleeping newborn perched in her car seat on top. Mom scans her notebook, checking items off her list. There’s no need to peruse—she’s already done her research. She’s already decided which shampoo is the best.
Because she’s already decided which brand has investability. That’s exactly what your brand needs—investability. (Yeah, yeah, we know it’s not a real word, but it exists in the real world.)
Because even shampoo—what used to be a $5 purchase—is now a $5 investment.
That purchase is an investment in a brand that our young mom and her family feel a genuine connection to. So what’s the difference between the shampoo she chooses and the brands left on the shelf?
It’s all about the origin story.
People today will sacrifice product features to buy from a company that believes in creating products and services responsibly. That’s why telling the true story of how you do what you do (as long as you’re doing it sustainably) is one of the most important ways your brand can MEAN MORE to people.
Is your factory a pinnacle of technology and efficiency? Is everything that comes out of your kitchen locally sourced? Do you charge your phone with solar power? If you don’t have a story like this, you need it.
This egg looks and tastes just like that egg, but that egg comes from a cage-free chicken. Sold. See just how much the story of how a cage-free egg can change the entire U.S. egg market.
Are having a Eureka moment? Nope. Just common sense.
Don’t get us wrong. This is an age-old tradition. When a bad story comes out about a company, everyone knows sales plummet. When a company powerfully and purposefully tells its sustainability story, not only do sales rise, but—here it comes again—investability in the brand skyrockets.
Brands who tell their sustainability story mean more to people.
“Don’t Buy This Jacket” Campaign – Patagonia
Remember when Patagonia launched its Corporate Responsibility effort with their “Don’t Buy This Jacket” Campaign? Brilliant. Effective. But not—sorry, Patagonia, we love you guys!—revolutionary.
Patagonia tapped into a basic desire. People need to be part of a movement, philosophy or way-of-life that’s bigger than themselves—in other words, something that creates some good in the world.
Don’t just say it. Do it.
Today, consumers don’t have to be sleuths to discover if your practices and products are truly created responsibly. Oodles of research is readily accessible online—even for those of us who aren’t as prepared as our shampoo-shopping mom.
Because here’s another modern aisle scene: an everyday shopper torn between two products whips out her iPhone to Google each brand. What story will she discover about your brand?
TAKEAWAYS:
Telling the true story of how you do what you do (as long as you’re doing it sustainably) is one of the most important ways your brand can MEAN MORE to people.Your brand’s products and services need investability. People today will sacrifice product features to buy from a company that believes in creating products and services responsibly.With easily accessible online content, consumers don’t have to be sleuths to discover if your practices and products are truly created responsibly.