This commentary originally published in Retail Customer Experience magazine October 2008. Click here to download a free PDF version.
Customers of the Garfield Book Company at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., often comment, "This store feels different." And it's not just the store's soaring two-story atrium entrance that makes them feel that way.
The new "community-embraced" college store serves students and the community, but it's the company's green experience that customers respond to most.
From beginning to end of a customer's in-store experience, multiple levels of messaging explain the impact of the bookstore's design and eco-friendly choices. Customers learn about water-saving devices in the restrooms, carpet tiles made from recycled materials, flooring made from bamboo and furniture manufactured from recycled wheat board.
The Garfield Book Company's emphasis on being green has given customers another reason to shop there. It was designed and built as a green store, but other retailers who want to improve their business, their customers' experience and the world we inhabit can do so without starting over.
Here are four keys to help carry a green initiative's positive impact all the way to the bottom line:
Start by being authentic.
It's not what a company says that makes it green, it's what it does. A retailer I once worked with asked, "What do you think about us running an ad campaign about our commitment to the environment?" When I asked him what his company was doing to improve the environment he replied, "Nothing yet, but we can figure something out." We settled on a buy-one-get-one-free campaign instead.
Customers appreciate and reward retailers that demonstrate a more environmentally conscious approach; they loathe those who jump on the green bandwagon without making real, sustainable changes.
Start with your store staff.
One benefit of a green initiative is the opportunity to engage and involve your staff. Many of your employees are living green lifestyles already and will welcome the opportunity to contribute to the initiative.
Sometimes employees even will start green initiatives on their own. A camera store manager told me that his employees began recycling their copy paper and flyers and bringing them weekly to a local elementary school that collects and recycles paper as a fundraiser.
Start with small wins.
Linette Nelson, owner of Beads etc. in Omaha, Neb., knew she wanted her store to be more green but wasn't sure how to go about it. She started by recycling the store's paper and plastics. Since then, she's begun asking customers if they want a shopping bag instead of automatically bagging every purchase. She also replaced plastic shopping bags with paper bags. Those are small wins that her customers appreciate.
Other small wins include selling reusable shopping bags, substituting hand dryers for paper towels, replacing incandescent light bulbs with more energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs, recycling printer cartridges and using more eco-friendly packing materials.
From small but sustainable beginnings, a retailer can expand a green initiative to include everything from hiring a vice president of sustainability, as Albertson's has done, or creating green stores.
Start it, live it and then tell people about it.
Being green has many benefits, including reducing operating costs, improving employee morale and increasing customer loyalty and advocacy. Communicating your green initiative is important, but only after it has become integrated into your culture and daily activity.
Each of the four keys for turning a green initiative into one that improves the bottom line begins with the word "start." That is the bottom line to being green. Start. Thinking about it or creating a green department or a cross-functional green team does not constitute green.
Start taking actions. Start with the right intent. Start thinking green, start acting green and both the environment and your bottom line will be the better for it.
|
Doug Fleener is president of retail and customer experience consultancy Dynamic Experiences Group LLC. He can be reached at www.dynamicexperiencesgroup.com. |
