A Guide to the Green Consumer Market Segment

SO YOU WANT TO GO GREEN?

A GUIDE TO THE GREEN CONSUMER MARKET SEGMENT

Alister Shirazi

A Project Presented to

The Faculty of Humboldt State University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Business Administration

Committee Membership

Carol Telesky, Ph.D, Committee Chair

David Sleeth-Keppler, Ph.D, Graduate Coordinator

July, 2014

ABSTRACT

SO YOU WANT TO GO GREEN? A GUIDE TO THE GREEN MARKET SEGMENT FOR MARKETERS

Alister Shirazi

This paper serves as a guide for organizations interested in appealing to the green

consumer market. A green consumer is defined as one that is sympathetic to social and

environmental causes. The green consumer often purchases products that align with her

values, but this is not a requirement for a consumer to be classified as a member of the

green consumer market segment. Traditional demographics measures, such as age,

income, education and gender are examined for patterns. Further, the paper introduces

psychographics. Psychographics provide insight into the values, attitudes and lifestyle factors that influence purchase intention. This paper also describes actionable steps that organizations can take to begin their journey toward sustainability.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ...... ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... iii

LIST OF FIGURES ...... v

INTRODUCTION ...... 1

THE GREEN MARKET...... 3

Why Go Green? ...... 3

Who Are Green Consumers ...... 4

TRADITIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS ...... 5

Age ...... 5

Gender ...... 5

Politics...... 6

Income...... 6

PSYCHOGRAPHICS ...... 9

VALS Segmentation ...... 11

Green Consumer - VALS Profile Segment ...... 15

Types of Green Consumers ...... 18

NOTES AND TIPS ON SELLING GREEN 20

Effort Required by Consumer ...... 20 iii

Green Washing...... 21

Tips For Selling Green ...... 22

SMALL STEPS YOUR BUSINESS CAN TAKE TO GO GREEN ...... 24

Go Paperless...... 24

Cyber Meet Whenever Possible ...... 24

Appoint a “Sustainability Chief” ...... 25

Seek Third Party Assistance ...... 26

CONCLUSION ...... 27

REFERENCES ...... 28

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. VALS Character Types outlines the basic layout of VALS profiles...... 12

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Green Consumers VS All Consumers ...... 8

Table 2. Key Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours by VALS™1VALS Segments % Compared to the US Population2 ...... 16

INTRODUCTION

There is a marked shift in consumer sentiment in the global marketplace. Consumers

now, more than ever, are becoming concerned with environmental issues including waste

management, recyclability of products, humane production practices, global warming,

etc. A study conducted by the Mintel organization concludes that sales of green products

have tripled in the past decade (Makower 2007). Also, the study concluded that the

number of consumers that refused to buy green products had been cut in half in the same

time period. In order for a company to appeal to the green market segment, they must

first understand the green market and gain insight into the sentiment and mentality of the

green consumer.

The purpose of this study is to provide a concise and useful guide for marketers to utilize

to most efficiently and effectively target the green market segment. This study will

review literature from recent and current articles and databases to provide the most

relevant information possible. When deciding to market to the green consumer segment,

the marketer must understand the sentiment and unique attributes and purchase intentions

that are associated with the green consumer. This study will be a concise guide to the

green consumer market segment and will be useful in determining where to expend

marketing resources and how to appeal to this new a powerful segment of American

consumers. It will include profiles of consumer demographics including age, gender,

income, political affiliation and categories of green consumers. It will also include a

2 collection of tips for how to appeal to the green consumer, as well as a general overview of the green market and what it means for a company to “go green”.

In going green, business might realize the economic benefits of appealing to a more dedicated customer base with generally higher income levels, as well as enjoy the efficiencies associated with the innovation that is required to alter products to appeal to this market segment. Ultimately, after reading this study, product designers and business professionals will realize that implementing sustainable business practices and economic prosperity do not have to exist in conflict with each other.

THE GREEN MARKET

This section examines overall market trends and identifies the characteristics that make the green market unique.

Why Go Green?

An article by Richard Marriott titled “5 Ways Going Green is Good For The Customer”

(Marriott 2012) outlines why going green is not only good for the customer, but is also good for long-term business. 1) Green businesses create an environment that promotes innovation. As companies seek to create more sustainable products, oftentimes they find areas where they can advance the functionality of their products, and reduce costs. Both of these lead to increases in customer value. 2) Businesses that are concerned with sustainability approaches are concerned with the long run business cycle. When a business thinks long term, they can think about and adapt to the changes in the business environment for the future, creating greater customer satisfaction. 3) Consumers now, more than ever before, have access to large amounts of information. This means they are becoming wiser consumers. As more consumers are becoming concerned with the sustainability cause, opportunities open up for businesses to meet the demand of consumers. 4) Many people expect green products to be more expensive. However often times acting sustainably means acting efficiently. With this increased efficiency often come cost savings. These cost savings can increase profits and/or sales. 5) Creating a

4 green work environment works to strengthen employee morale and culture. (Marriott

2012)

Who Are Green Consumers

This section will outline both the traditional demographic metrics as well as information about a deeper method of segmentation called psychographics. Age, gender, income, political affiliation, education and VALS profiles have all been examined and a summary provided about each. This section will also distinguish between the different types of green consumers as well as the unique challenges that come with targeting this specific audience.

TRADITIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS

Age

There seems to be very little agreement among studies and researchers about which age groups are most representative of the average green consumer. Some research shows no correlation, while others show a negative correlation between age and environmental awareness (Paco 2010). However, over the last couple decades, many studies have concluded that the green consumer is older than average. (Akehurst 2012).

As a marketer, the decision of what age demographic to market toward will depend on the type of product being sold.

Gender

Men and women tend to be nearly equal in their willingness to purchase green products

(Akehurst 2012). Any significant difference in consumption levels has yet to be agreed upon by any majority of researchers. Studies have also showed women to be more environmentally conscious than men. However, among men and women that considered themselves to be environmentally conscious, men tended to have more intense attitudes about social responsibility (Paco 2010).

Again, gender should not play a significant role when trying to appeal to the green consumer. The determination of which gender group to concentrate marketing efforts on should be product and situation dependent.

Politics

A majority of the consumers that would consider themselves to be a purchaser of green products preferred to affiliate with a left-leaning politics (Akehurst 2012). However, political affiliation on its own is not enough to predict the level of concern for environmental issues.

Care should be taken when associating politics with a product. Some studies have shown that green labeling can in fact turn off some conservative consumers (Holohan 2013).

Income

Due to the tendency for green products to carry a higher price tag when compared to their non-green substitutes, the income level for the average green consumer tends to be higher than that of consumers that are less inclined to buy green products. That is, there is a positive relationship between income and willingness to purchase green products

(Akehurst 2012)

TRADIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS OVERVIEW

The following is a chart that shows a comparison between the average customer in the

US and the average green consumer. There are a few notable differences. Overall, this chart show that on average, green consumers tend to be a little younger, a bit wealthier, have a greater chance of being a college graduate, and is more likely to be female than male.

The following chart (Table 1) shows the differences between green consumers and all consumers. On average, green consumers tend to be younger, wealthier, better educated and more likely to be a woman. This information can be very useful for certain applications of marketing, but it is not a complete picture of who a green consumer is.

The reason for this is that traditional demographics can only describe a correlated relationship and cannot explain causation. For example, just because a person is a 40 year old female that makes $65,700 and is college educated does not mean she is a green consumer. These metrics are a very superficial means of segmentation, however traditional demographics can help a marketer meet a marketer’s target demographic more efficiently than without the use of them. Therefore, traditional demographics offer valuable information, but should not be used as the complete picture. In order to get a deep understanding of who a customer is in a target market segment, it is important to introduce other deeper metrics for analysis. This topic is discussed further in the psychographics section of this document.

Table 1. Green Consumers VS All Consumers

Characteristic All Consumers "Green" Consumers Average age 44 40 Gender Female 51% 54% Male 49% 46% Ethnicity Caucasian/other 75% 62% Hispanic 13% 21% African-American 11% 16% College educated 25% 31% Median household income $58,700 $65,700

Source: Brooks, S. (2009). The green consumer, Restaurant Business, September, pp. 20121.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS

There has been a shift in the business world away from the use of demographics, toward the use of psychographics. The fact that a customer is a member of a particular demographic does not yield specific enough insight in order to influence their purchase intention. For example, a marketer may believe that they know their customer demographic, and may describe this demographic as being predominantly male, 30 to 38 year old, higher than average income with a moderate level of education. The question a marketer should then ask is what does this information tell me about what motivates the consumer? How can a marketer utilize age, income, education level and wealth to evaluate the forces that inspire this group? Do members of this group all share the same values or goals in life?

One way to demonstrate the differences between demographics and psychographics is to examine the lives of two hypothetical women. Both women are about the same age, and make roughly the same annual salary. Both of these women are single and have a bachelor’s degree. According to the metrics outlined by demographics, these two women are the same and should be marketed to equally. However, if we look beyond demographics, we might find that one of the women is recently divorced and has 3 children while the other woman has never been married because she has spent most of her post-college years traveling. One woman is a real estate agent while the other woman is a freelance photographer. One woman believes in God and loves her country, while

10 the other is agnostic and cares about social issues. This is a perfect example of how sometimes demographics may not paint a complete picture. The strongest segmentation profiles incorporate both psychographic and demographic characteristics.

As seen in this article, many of the traditional demographic metrics such as age, income and gender, do not necessarily yield strong relationships with green consumer behavior and sentiment. In addition, if traditional demographics are the only metrics used to determine a profile for a consumer base, valuable information might be missed or misinterpreted. For example, the income levels for green consumers are generally agreed to be higher than average because of the higher cost of sustainable products. However, this implies that low-income consumers do not care about the social issues that high- income consumers do. However, this correlation between high-income earners and green sentiment does not necessarily mean there is causation. Many of the products that are sustainably produced internalize the external costs that its production has on the environment, causing these products to cost more than their non-sustainable counterparts.

Families with lower incomes often do not have the luxury of purchasing the more expensive products. This inability to afford these products does not necessarily mean they are not sympathetic to the cause. The most comprehensive and meaningful segmentation tactics take into consideration metrics to include both demographic and psychographic functions

VALS Segmentation

Psychographics introduces other more qualitative elements into the equation.

Psychographics, named for VALS, which stands for Values Attitudes and Lifestyles, is a proprietary blend of a variety of factors that contributes to a set of market segments, known in the VALS world as VALS profiles.

The VALS system categorizes a population into 8 distinct character types, and even sometimes a blend of two of the character types. It arranges these character types on a sort of matrix that arranges the types by the primary motivation the group, and its degree of resources it has access to. Primary motivations include ideals, achievement, and self- expression. These three categories each have two character types within each. They are further divided up by the degree to which each group has access to resources. In this context, resources could mean a number of things that allows mobility; money, time, political associations, and education can all be considered resources in this context.

Figure 1. VALS Character Types outlines the basic layout of VALS profiles.

There are eight main character profiles in the VALS segmentation system. As seen in the

Figure 1, these types are: Thinkers, Believers, Achievers, Strivers, Experiencers, Makers,

Innovators and Survivors. These 8 types are organized in a matrix by two main traits: primary motivation and resources. Primary motivations are broken up into three categories, Ideals, Achievement, and Self Expression. Consumers that are motivated by

Ideals are guided by principles and knowledge. Consumers that are motivated by

Achievement are looking for ways to prove they are more successful than those they consider to be their peers. Lastly those that are motivated by Self Expression are motivated by “social or physical activity, variety and risk” (VALS 2014).

Once their primary motivation has been established, a segmentation can be further divided into two groups based on its access to resources. Again, resources need not be only monetary. In the context of VALS profiles, resources are considered to be things like the amount of energy an individual has, her impulsiveness, self-confidence, intellect and leadership abilities. The Ideals group, is broken up into Thinkers with high resources, and Believers with low resources. The Achievement group is broken up into

Achievers with high resources and Strivers with low. Lastly, Self Expression group is broken up into Experiencers with high resources and Makers with low resources. On the

Northern and Southern extremes of the resources scale lie Innovators, with vast amounts of, and access to, resources, and Survivors with extremely low access to resources. One of the biggest influencers on Innovator and Survivors classifications is the amount of resources they have access to. Innovators and Survivors are outliers in terms of their level of education and wealth, and represent a small portion of the overall population.

For example Innovators represent only about 11% of the population (Sleeth-Keppler

2014). Innovators and Survivors are not necessarily motivated by one particular motivation, but by a blend of any of the three primary motivations. Sometimes

Innovators have a more dominant primary motivator and these Innovators would then be labeled “Innovator-Achievers” or “Innovator-Experiencer”, depending on which traits

they exhibited the most prominently. Innovators provide an important role in the

diffusion of new ideas to the masses because many of the new products and ideas start

out with the innovator group and diffuse through to the mainstream.

One of the main benefits to using VALS profiles is that each profile can be described in

terms that make intuitive sense. For example, the Achiever family is one of moderate

means. The family may or may not be able to afford their children to private school, but

if they go to public school, it is likely to be in a nicer neighborhood. The mother

probably has a career, and the father may be a real estate broker with stable income. The

kids are probably linked in to social media, and their parents probably purchase for the

children the latest electronics gadget they say they need. The education level for this

group is above average, although a college degree is not necessary for members to be in

this group. They participate in social events and are interested in becoming the most

successful among their peers. Social status is important and this group is likely to pay a

premium for brand name goods and services.

These profiles make intuitive sense. A marketer can actually get an image of a member

from this profile, and is very likely they have met someone that fits the description. It is

through this reflection to personal experience, and deeper understanding of the consumer

segment that a marketer can begin to tailor the needs of their campaign to the motivations

behind its consumer.

Green Consumer - VALS Profile Segment

This section will discuss the attitudes toward green causes and climate change and how they relate to the different VALS profiles. One of the difficulties with using the VALS system is that its data is proprietary. Although detailed descriptions of each profile exist in the public domain, actual breakdowns of survey data are not readily available. This creates a reliance on the marketer or the business owner to make generalizations about the market based on his or her own personal experience.

Table 2, shown below, is compilation of data that examines attitudes and behaviors

relative to each of the eight VALS profile

Table 2. Key Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours by VALS™1VALS Segments % Compared to the US Population2

Issue3 ALL IN TH BE AC ST EX MA SU Climate change is happening 55 77 48 55 40 55 65 58 51 Climate change is harmful to 37 55 24 37 25 39 47 36 34 people Climate change natural, not 22 9 21 22 22 16 29 27 33 caused by people I would call myself an 12 34 11 9 8 4 16 13 8 environmentalist I would accept a lower standard 16 30 11 16 10 23 10 16 17 of living to conserve energy Doubt that green brands help 15 12 10 16 20 9 23 11 13 the environment Behaviors4 Home energy audit Above Below Below average average average Raised thermostat during Above Above Below summer average average Average Bought organic produce Above Above Below Below average average average average Recycled waste other than Above Above Below bottles/cans average average Average Bought locally grown food Above Above Below Above average average average average Bought at least two products Above Above made from recycled average average paper/plastic Visited a website to find out Above Below Below Above Below information about climate average average average average average change

Notes from Table 2: Reprinted with permission from Sleeth-Keppler & Clasen (2014) Note: IN=Innovators; TH=Thinkers; BE=Believers; AC=Achievers; ST=Strivers; EX=Experiencers; MA=Makers; SU=Survivors. 1 Based on the ecoAmerica/VALS American Climate Values Survey and the American Climate & Environmental Values Survey (www.ecoAmerica.org Programs, 2012). 2 A blank space indicates the VALS type’s score is within the average range for the US population. 3 Agree option on a 4-point scale 4 Activities/behaviors done in the past 12 months

Questions about climate change can be used as a metric to estimate the particular profile

group’s concern about social and environmental issues. That is, if a group is highly

concerned about global warming, it can be inferred that the group is also highly

concerned about other environmental issues. Innovators tend to reflect the greatest

magnitude of concern when it comes to social causes. Achievers, however, tend to score lowest on questions involving environmental concern. These two groups are often of greatest concern to marketers because of their ability to impact the other groups. If an

Innovator is passionate about a particular cause, whether driven by values, self-

expression, or achievement, they will likely have an interest in diffusing the idea to the

masses. Due to the Innovator’s vast amount of resources, the Innovator has an influence

on the other groups. Of similar importance, the Achiever is the fulcrum for the tipping

point. Once the Achievers begin to accept an idea, it diffuses to the vast majority of the

population in the US.

Green Consumer Behavior

There tends to be a “value-action gap” (Akehurst 2012). That is, consumers will not

reliably act or purchase based on their values. Some researchers have concluded the reason for this incongruence is due to the trade-off between the individual consequence for a purchase and the environmental benefit of a purchase. Consumers tend to heavily weight the individual consequence, which is why there is a difference between values and actions in these consumers. Marketers and product designers must have this information in mind. When creating products for this market segment.

Consumer behavior will depend on individualized level of education about environmental

concerns.

Types of Green Consumers

Firstly, green consumers can be categorized into two categories: dark green, customers

who will pay the marginal difference in cost to acquire green products, and light green,

customers who are sympathetic to the green movement but are not willing to pay the

costs. These are at a stark contrast to basic brown customers who just don’t care. The

dark green group can be broken down further into 4 groups. 1) Resource conservers 2)

Health fanatics 3) Animal lovers 4) Outdoor enthusiasts. (Scott 2013)

Another method of categorizing consumers segments them into four categories.

Activists, realists, complacent consumers and alienated consumers. Activists are loyal to

their cause and go out of their way to act and consume ethically. Realists are conscious

19 of social issues but understand the importance of profit. Complacent consumers assume the issues are someone else’s problem to deal with. Alienated consumers are of generally lower education level and are not sympathetic to social causes. (Wang 2012)

NOTES AND TIPS ON SELLING GREEN

It is not enough to simply understand the green consumer, the marketer must also know how to reach them, and the ideals and motivations behind their actions. This section outlines some of the unique behaviors associated with the green consumer market.

Why Do Consumers Buy Green Products

It is important to understand the motivating factors behind the purchases that green consumers make. Hedonic value is a large motivator for green consumers. That is, these customers enjoy the “consumption experience” of consuming green products. This is because customers are proud to make purchases that are consistent with their values.

Purchasing products that are consistent with their values makes them feel good. There is also an altruistic motivator in consuming these goods. That is, the feeling that the consumer’s purchases have positive effects on society. This is a self-justifying end in itself. (Papista 2013)

Effort Required by Consumer

The effort required to find and purchase the items has an effect on overall customer value as well. Effort refers to brand search effort as well as “physical effort to make the

purchase” as determined by the number of brands represented in the distribution

channels. The higher the required effort, the lower overall consumer value associated

with that particular product. Therefore, it is important to make these products easily

accessible and convenient to purchase in order to create increased customer value.

(Papista 2013)

Green Washing

Green washing is defined as misrepresenting a firm’s “green-ness”. Doing so can turn off consumers, so it is important that claims made are valid and not exaggerated. It can be tempting to take the easy route toward marketing to green customers by making false claims about products or the company that offers them in order to appeal to the green consumer. This can have an overtly negative effect on consumer intention by turning off not only green consumers but also all consumers that are concerned with the trustworthiness of a company. Green washing has been known to destroy a company’s reputation. Therefore, it is more important to be truthful on labels and matters of public relations than to exaggerate or make false claims. (Villano 2011)

Tips For Selling Green

There are what appear to be disadvantages to going green. However, upon closer

examination, these disadvantages often turn out to provide distinct and notable

advantages to the company that undertakes them.

Firstly, some may perceive the shift toward sustainability to be costly. Performing

business tasks that promote environmental sustainability often means incurring costs that

did not exist before. These costs are often passed on to the consumer. Often times an

increased initial cost will be recouped over a longer period of time due to increased

efficiency or a growing customer base, however in certain instances, there is a true cost

associated with socially responsible behavior. It is often necessary to pass some of these

costs on to the customer to remain competitive. This does not always lead to a weaker

economic position. By increasing the price of a product, a company is appealing to a

different type of consumer. There is a vast amount of competition for low-cost, budget friendly products. By raising quality and raising prices, a company is essentially differentiating its products from its would-be competitors, thus appealing to a less crowded, more price tolerant market segment. This decreased competition at higher price points means a company may enjoy greater sales volume as a result of differentiating their product.

Never assume customers will love you simply because you are green (Villano 2011).

The green aspect must be convenient and work in conjunction with other desirable traits

of the product. For example, a hotel that promotes itself to be green may be hurting its

business because some consumers associate “green” with “sparse”. Proper branding

promotion must be done to get customers to understand that going green does not

necessarily mean sacrificing comfort. The second lesson encourages companies to define

what “green” means to them. There are many ways to go green. While a company

should try to approach sustainability though multiple avenues, define what green means

for your company. 3) Companies need to back up their green marketing campaign with

action and transparency. Avoid incorporating green leaves and the use of the word

“green” in your logo and brand. 4) Customers care. According to the Organic Trade

Association, organic food sales have grown about 20% year over year for the past 10 years. 5) Reinvest back into the community. When customers hear about this, they want to do business with a company that cares. It is a reflection on the company’s image.

(Villano 2011)

SMALL STEPS YOUR BUSINESS CAN TAKE TO GO GREEN

Taking steps toward a more environmentally friendly organization can be rewarding both intrinsically and financially. A business owner with little or no information on the subject of energy efficiency or environmental preservation may feel intimidated by the thought of heading down the path of social responsibility. This section outlines small actionable steps business owners can take this quarter to begin their journey toward social responsibility.

Go Paperless

The benefits of avoiding hard copies of documents include reduced clutter in the office, lower energy bill, and lower cost of paper and office supplies. In addition, if electronic copies are used, these documents can remain searchable and are less likely to become lost.

Cyber Meet Whenever Possible

Save time, energy and money by having meetings via videoconference or telephone when possible. Another option would be to negotiate work-from-home agreements for employees when possible. Meeting at an office to work on a daily basis is a practice that originated in a world before personal computing made its way into the mainstream.

Advances in personal computing and communication devices allow employees to work and meet from all corners of the world. As companies continue to embrace new technology, they will continue to see increases in outputs using fewer resources. This combination of increased efficiency will provide higher profit margins for business and lower costs.

Appoint a “Sustainability Chief”

Give an employee the opportunity to improve the organization by appointing them as head of a sustainability committee. In the beginning, this person or committee need only spend a few hours per month on sustainability projects. They can be responsible for implementing recycling programs, and thinking of ways to increase efficiency through sustainability. The employer can opt to pay extra for this responsibility, or it can ask for a volunteer for someone to head up these projects. This small act of dedicating even a few hours per month can impose a shift in corporate culture which will in turn have an impact on the way all employees conduct themselves on a daily basis.

Reduce Waste

Use both sides of each printed paper, turn off lights when no one is in a room, turn computers off at night, donate old ink cartridges, there are a multitude of small actions that can add up to big results. Get in a habit of looking for waste and invent ways to eliminate it.

Seek Third Party Assistance

There is a wide variety of consulting services that can assist your organization with the bigger projects that seem overwhelming or outside the scope of your organization’s business focus. Seeking third party consulting is an efficient way of creating positive externalities because it allows each group to continue to specialize and devote their resources to the tasks it does best, allowing for the greatest effect in the shortest amount of time.

All these minor increments in efficiency can add up quickly. Firms may realize that as they devote time to these matters the investments are recouped in a short amount of time.

If this happens, the business owner may decide she wants to continue to seek efficiency gains in other aspects of the organization.

CONCLUSION

There are certain demographic and lifestyle characteristics that are strongly associated with the green consumer market segment, such as political affiliation and income. Other characteristics are not so clearly defined, such as gender and age. Although there is a strong desire for many consumers to go green and purchase sustainable products, the circumstances surrounding such purchases must be convenient enough to counteract the inconveniences of higher prices and the information needed to make educated purchases.

When a company makes the decision to go green, they must be transparent in their efforts and acknowledge both their successes and failures because an attempt to only highlight their successes and hide their failures will result in a tainting of reputation. After a company decides to make a transition in their business practices toward a more sustainable approach, they may realize economic efficiencies as a result of the innovation that is required to take them toward sustainable practices. In the end, economic viability and environmental sustainability need not exist in conflict with each other.

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