BrandMarketingRantResponsibilitySustainability

Little Things Really Do Matter

This is admittedly a bit of a rant, but is also an important point when it comes to how you demonstrate your sustainability to your customers and other audiences. (recommended reading on this topic: Little Big Things by Tom Peters).

The background: I buy many of the sustainability-related products for my home from one particular on-line merchant (who is the subject of this rant, and to be clear, not a client). I’m also one of those people who hates to receive anything printed – catalogs, statements, whatever…for sustainability as well as clutter and efficiency reasons (I never miss a chance to point out that they are almost always related)

The event: I picked up my (US) mail today, and in that mail, found a printed catalog from this company. I’ve never received one before, in the several years I’ve done business with this company.

The rant: Why did I receive a catalog from this company? They are a sustainability-products company. They purport to be a very green company. There are lots of images of trees on their website (I wonder if any of those were cut down to print my catalog). Yes, direct mail marketing works well. But I’m an established customer.

The solution: There are people who prefer to receive catalogs in the mail. Others don’t mind. And still others, like me, do mind. I wonder if this particular company might have considered sending an e-mail (in the fashion of a hotel pillow card) after my first order just asking if I’d prefer to receive communications electronically or in print (or even both).  I know I would have both opted for electronic and would have appreciated them asking.

This is a double win for the company – they make me happy with my choice and they improve their reputation in my eyes. Just sending the catalog both annoyed me and damaged their reputation (particularly their green claims). And I wonder if it would have cost them less to produce the e-mail than to produce and mail the catalog?

The conclusion: Yes, this is a very small thing – and not all-that-uncommon. But over the scope of a large number of customers/prospects and in the eyes of the larger community, if you’re really serious about sustainability (or for that matter, managing your reputation at all), little things like this go a long way to both improving your reputation and demonstrating just how strong your commitment is.

So pay attention, even when it seems the question is not very relevant.

And chime in if you have a story like this to share.

2 thoughts on “Little Things Really Do Matter

  1. The same thing happened to me yesterday – a big, fat catalog from a company that I have never done business with (and even if I did – I am thinking it was over 10 years ago). I love the idea of an "opt in" email for catalogs before they are sent.

    Alas, their strategies must work because if they didn't they would avoid this cost and stop!

  2. Catalogs drive me crazy, too! And it's amazing how difficult it is to get oneself off these mailing lists in spite of repeated attempts. The least these offending companies can do is act immediately when we, the buyers, "opt out" or express a preference to receive non-paper/online communication.

    Another pet peeve of mine is the waste created at conferences and trade shows in the form of plastic name badges (that could easily be reused), bottled water, marketing materials that get tossed immediately…. there is so much room for improvement with a little thought.

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