The modern business landscape is predominantly influenced by the need to nderstand consumer behavior. Over the years, consumer behavior has undergone notable changes instigated by different aspects such as globalization and the evolution of technological products such as social networks. However, it is the role of cultural values that continue to dominate consumer behavior experts, especially when it comes to consumer preferences and brand loyalty (Chegini et al., 2016). Consumer behavior is heavily dependent on the cultural values that society emphasizes. As society experiences shifts in its belief system, so does its consumption trends. It is critical to note that values are long-lasting, and this is the reason markers and other affiliated experts focus on what drives consumer behavior. One such interesting change in cultural values is green marketing, which promotes consumer goods and services based on their environmental benefits (Dangelico and Vocalelli, 2017). Across the globe, companies are increasingly implementing principles of green marketing following concerns on how to achieve environmental sustainability. The current cultural trend of integrating environmental issues through green marketing has an associated impact on consumer behavior. From these developments, it is apparent that there is a relationship between consumer behavior and cultural values changes. Today, consumers are gradually becoming aware of the need to protect the environment, and thus any company that uses green marketing principles is laying a foundation for loyalty and thus more consumption of its products.
Relationship Between Consumer Behavior and Changes in Cultural Values
Business activities after the industrial era primarily focused on maximally exploiting the environment with the sole purpose of sustaining mass production and thus increasing profits. With time, the environment started exhibiting exhaustion, such as climate change and unprecedented and destructive calamities. Due to these events, researchers and policymakers have joined forces to advocate for business practices that support environmental sustainability. Moreover, society is living through an information age, whereby consumers are aware of these efforts to safeguard the environment. Consequently, firms that do not support efforts to protect the environment through safe practices face a public rebellion by consumers of their products or services. According to Dangelico and Vocalelli (2017), organizations must consider developing products and services that have less damage to the environment. Further, the scholars write that marketing is a critical tool for creating awareness in consumers about the need for environmental sustainability and its associated benefits. Therefore, one appreciates that the society has moved from just consuming products, but they are also concerned about the impact of the production processes and the products on the environment. Such is the cultural shift that significantly influences consumer trends, preferences, and behaviors. Green marketing is thus driven by changes in cultural value on production and consumption of commodities, whereby it involves corporates integrating principles of environmental sustainability in their processes. Hence, marketers focus on informing consumers about how their products and associated production processes have been designed to align with environmental sustainability efforts.
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Companies Employing Green Marketing
Tesla
Tesla is among the companies that have heavily invested in the green mission. Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, is a notable advocator for a low carbon economy, a principle which forms the foundations of his company. From this principle, Musk has cultivated a vision for the organization, including the production of climate-friendly products. Examples of Tesla's green economy-oriented products include electric vehicles, solar panels, and home batteries. The company creates marketing messages that are based on the aspect of low carbon emission ( Matthews, 2016 ). However, it is Tesla’s electric vehicles that exhibit this aspect of green marketing. The organization is building wholly electric vehicles that use renewable energy.
Through these electric vehicles and other products, Tesla hopes to end reliance on fossil fuels that are substantially responsible for global warming. According to Shipley (2020), Tesla attaches the going green concept in its automobiles. With this approach, Tesla has managed to wrestle vast chunks of the market segment to traditional leaders in the automobile industry, such as General motors. The company is also growing exponentially, making it a consumers' favorite in the developed world. I believe that from the beginning, Tesla's management understood that the world was getting depleted of nonrenewable energy sources and that fossil fuels play a significant role in global warming. Also, the company understands that modern-day consumers are enlightened on environmental sustainability needs, and that is why it is investing heavily on the same and continuing to position the same in the mind of its clients.
Coca-Cola
In the recent past, Coca-Cola, a global leader in the beverage industry, has undertaken to incorporate green marketing strategies into its products. In 2018, the firm introduced a new design for its diet coke cans a move, which was aimed at making it easy to clean them up after use. Further, the company said that it plans to develop completely eco-friendly packaging while using 50 percent reused materials by 2030 ( Gray, 2018 ). With such an announcement, one acknowledges that the company invests in green marketing approaches. The company hopes by integrating such principles in its business model, it will endear itself to consumers, thus remaining cultivating customer loyalty. From the Coca-Cola efforts, I feel that the company green marketing agenda is futuristic because it is concerned with the pollution impacts of its products' packaging. The firm understands that consumers want a clean environment, and thus it must have cans that can be recycled to avoid polluting the environment.
Starbucks
Starbucks is a global leader in the implementation of green marketing principles in its business operations. The company’s management understands that consumers are increasingly becoming environmentally conscious, and thus the company is investing resources to ensure that its processes do not lead to the destruction of the environment. According to research on green marketing practices by Starbucks, the organization is concerned by aspects such as sources of raw materials, transportation methods, and design of outlets and operational methods. The latter concerns power and water use and waste management techniques (Tsai et al.,2020). From the findings of this study, it is evident that Starbucks endorses going green efforts in its operations. For example, in its marketing endeavors, the company, in its statements, says that it has measures in place to cut on environmental pollution and alleviate activities that can exacerbate global warming (Tsai et al.,2020). Resultantly, most Starbucks clients are significantly aware of the firm’s green actions, which has positively contributed to customer loyalty. I think that Starbucks has a holistic understanding of changes in cultural values concerning environmental sustainability. The reason for this is that it has a pronged approach to environmental sustainability, with the key being mitigating environmental pollution.
Summary
Green marketing is a noble endeavor that companies undertake to inform their customers on measures to ensure environmental sustainability. Green marketing is informed by a shift in cultural values that clients are looking to purchase for companies with environmental sustainability policies. Some of the global leaders in green marketing include Tesla, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks.
References
Chegini, F., Molan, S. B., & Kashanifar, S. S. (2016). An examination of the impact of cultural values on brand preferences in Tehran’s Fashion Market. Procedia Economics and Finance , 36 (16), 189-200.
Dangelico, R. M., & Vocalelli, D. (2017). “Green Marketing”: an analysis of definitions, strategy steps, and tools through a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Cleaner Production , 165 , 1263-1279.
Gray, S. (2018). Coca-Cola Wants to Be More Environmentally Friendly. Here's How . Fortune. Retrieved 2 August 2020, from fortune.com/2018/01/19/coca-cola-wants-to-be-more-environmentally-friendly-heres-how/ .
Matthews, R. (2016). Elon Musk's Innovative Vision and Tesla's Sustainability Leadership (Videos) . Thegreenmarketoracle.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020, from www.thegreenmarketoracle.com/2016/10/elon-musks-innovative-vison-and-teslas.html .
Shipley, L. (2020). How Tesla Sets Itself Apart . Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 2 August 2020, from hbr.org/2020/02/how-tesla-sets-itself-apart .
Tsai, P. H., Lin, G. Y., Zheng, Y. L., Chen, Y. C., Chen, P. Z., & Su, Z. C. (2020). Exploring the effect of Starbucks' green marketing on consumers' purchase decisions from consumers’ perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services , 56 , 102162.
