What is Green Marketing?

Green marketing is the marketing of environmentally friendly products and

services. It is becoming more popular as more people become concerned
with environmental issues and decide that they want to spend their money
in a way that is kinder to the planet.

Green marketing can involve a number of different things, such as creating

an eco-friendly product, using eco-friendly packaging, adopting
sustainable business practices, or focusing marketing efforts on messages
that communicate a product’s green benefits.

This type of marketing can be more expensive, but it can also be profitable
due to the increasing demand. For example, products made locally in North
America tend to be more expensive than those made overseas using cheap
labor, but they have a much smaller carbon footprint because they don’t
have to fly across the globe to get here. For some consumers and business
owners, the environmental benefit outweighs the price difference.

LOHAS
Consumers who prefer to purchase green products even though they might
be more expensive fall into the ‘LOHAS’ category. LOHAS stands for
Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. According to Wikipedia:

“LOHAS describes an integrated, rapidly growing market for goods and

services that appeal to consumers whose sense of environmental and social
responsibility influences their purchase decisions.”

These consumers are active supporters of environmental health and are the
heaviest purchasers of green and socially responsible products. They also
have the power to influence other consumers.
 Green Marketing Methods
Beyond making an environmentally friendly product, business owners can
do other things as part of their green marketing efforts. The following can
all be part of a green marketing strategy:

 Using eco-friendly paper and inks for print marketing materials

 Skipping the printed materials altogether and option for electronic
marketing
 Having a recycling program and responsible waste disposal practices
 Using eco-friendly product packaging
 Using efficient packing and shipping methods
 Using eco-friendly power sources
 Taking steps to offset environmental impact

“Greenwashing”
Some marketers try to capitalize on the growing number of green
consumers by simply taking a green marketing approach to products that
might not otherwise be considered green. They try to position their
products as a better choice for the environment when they’re really not. An
example of this is when a company uses the color green in their packaging,
or the word green somewhere in their messaging, when there isn’t anything
particularly eco-friendly about their product, nor it’s not more eco-friendly
than competing products. Greenwashing is not only misleading, but it can
also be damaging to a company’s reputation.

If consumers want to be certain they are indeed buying a green product,

they should look for official certifications listed on the product packaging.
 ‫خطة التسويق‬

‫الخطة التسويقية ألي شركة هي نافذة النجاح في تحقيق أهداف لهذه الشركة لتحملها إلى غاياتها‪.‬‬
‫في الواقع هناك ثالث أنواع من الشركات؛ تلك التي تجعل األشياء تحدث؛ وتلك التي تراقب األشياء‬
‫وهي تحدث؛ وتلك التي تتعجب مما يحدث‪ .‬إن خطة التسويق يجب أن تجعل األشياء تحدث!‬
‫وبوجود خطة تسويق معدّة جيدا‪ ،‬فإن هدف الشركة يصبح جعل األشياء تحدث بدال من التعجب‬
‫مما يحدث!‬
‫يمكن القول أن الخطة التسويقية هي خطة عمل للشركة تتركز بشكل أساسي على‬
‫المبيعات والتسويق‪ ،‬لكن هذا التعريف البسيط ال يعكس األهمية والتعقيد الذين يميزان الخطة‬
‫التسويقية‪ ،‬إذ ال بد ألي خطة تسويقية أن تجيب على األسئلة التالية‪:‬‬

‫أين هو موقع الشركة اآلن؟‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫إلى أين تريد أن تصل؟‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫ما هو السبيل للوصول إلى هناك؟‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫فالخطة التسويقية هي وثيقة مكتوبة – ال تزيد على الـ ‪ 10‬صفحات في الغالب – تحدد االستراتيجية‪،‬‬
‫وب يئة التسويق‪ ،‬والزبائن المتوقعين‪ ،‬والمنافسة المنتظرة إضافة لألهداف الموضوعة للمبيعات‬
‫والربح للعام القادم‪ ،‬كما يتم فيها تفصيل وتوضيح األفعال واإلجراءات الالزمة لتحقيق األهداف‬
‫التسويقية الموضوعة‪.‬‬
‫إن أهم عاملين في اإلعداد الناجح للخطة التسويقية هما المرونة التي تسمح بالتغيير‪ ،‬وقابلية التعامل‬
‫مع األقسام األخرى للمشروع (المالية‪ ،‬اإلنتاج‪ ،‬البحث والتطوير‪.)...،‬‬
 ‫أسباب إعداد الخطة التسويقية‬
‫يقول مثل قديم إذا كنت ال تعرف أين أنت ذاهب‪ ،‬فاسلك أي طريق ألنك لن تعرف الفرق االعندما‬
‫تصل‪ .‬وبالمثل‪ ،‬إذا كانت لديك فكرة غير واضحة عن المكان الذي تقصده‪ ،‬فإنك بحاجة إلى حظ‬
‫غير عادي للوصول إليه‪ .‬إن مجرد التفكير في إعداد خطة تسويقية يُجبر أي شركة أن تفكر جديا ً‬
‫بأهدافها وأسباب بقائها‪ ،‬وبشكل عام تتشابه األهداف العامة للشركات الصغيرة والمتوسطة في‬
‫الغالبية العظمى من الحاالت‪ ،‬وهي تتمحور حول بناء مشروع صناعي أو تجاري على أسس‬
‫سليمة‪ ،‬وتحقيق نمو مضطرد‪ ،‬وربحية ال بأس بها‪.‬‬
‫ويلعب التسويق دورا ً حاسما ً في تحقيق األهداف المذكورة‪ ،‬فهو الذي يقود إلى التعرف على مقومات‬
‫النمو من زبائن جدد وأسواق جديدة‪ ،‬ويُحدد طبيعة المنتجات والخدمات التي يطلبها هؤالء الزبائن‪،‬‬
‫ويشرح اإلجراءات الضرورية المطلوبة للفوز بصفقات تجارية‪ ،‬ويبين الميزة التنافسية التي تتمتع‬
‫بها الشركة والفرص المتاحة ويقيها المخاطر في السوق‪.‬‬
‫ويجب على الخطة التسويقية المكتوبة أن تشمل جميع األنشطة التسويقية وأن تُجبر الشركة على‬
‫إتباع قواعد التفكير المنظم‪ ،‬بحيث ترسم أهدافا ً محددة‪ ،‬موضحة األنشطة األكثر فعالية الواجب‬
‫تنفيذها‪.‬‬
‫تقوم الخطة التسويقية بما يلي‪:‬‬
‫تربط بوضوح بين األهداف واإلجراءات‪ .‬ترتب األولويات‪.‬‬
‫توضح مسار الشركة‪ :‬إلى أين تريد الوصول وما هي الوسائل التي ستمكنها من الوصول‪.‬‬
‫تحديد الموارد المطلوبة وأفضل الطرق في توزيعها‪.‬‬
‫تحدد المسؤوليات‪ ،‬والمهام‪ ،‬والبرنامج الزمني‪.‬‬
‫تحث الشركة على التفكير باستراتيجيات جديدة‪ ،‬وإدخال التجديد والتنويع‪ ،‬وإيجاد أفضل الوسائل‬
‫للقيام بأنشطتها‪.‬‬
‫تعمل على تخفيف المخاطر ألنها تتنبأ بمشاكل السوق وتهديداته وأخطاره وتقلباته‪.‬‬
‫تقدم منهجا ً لقياس وتحسين وتطوير األنشطة التسويقية‪.‬‬
‫يجب على الخطة التسويقية أال تتصف بالجمود‪ ،‬إنما على العكس يجب أن تتميز بالمرونة بحيث‬
‫تسمح للشركة بمراجعة خططها في ضوء المستجدات والفرص الجديدة والمشاكل الطارئة‪ ،‬فوجود‬
‫الخطة التسويقية المرنة القابلة للتعديل يم ّكن الشركة من االستجابة للتغيرات بسرعة أكبر‪.‬‬
 Societal Marketing Concept

Societal marketing concept questions whether the pure marketing

concept overlooks possible conflicts between consumer short-run wants
and consumer long-run welfare.
The societal marketing concept holds “marketing strategy should deliver
value to customers in a way that maintains or improves both the
consumer’s and society’s well-being”.
It calls for sustainable marketing, socially and environmentally responsible
marketing that meets the present needs of consumers and businesses while
also preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their
needs.
The Societal Marketing Concept puts the Human welfare on top before
profits and satisfying the wants.
The global warming panic button is pushed and a revelation is required in
the way we use our resources. So companies are slowly either fully or
partially trying to implement the societal marketing concept.
 Buyer Decision Process: 5 Stages of Consumer
Buying Decision Process
Buyer decision process (or customer buying process) helps markets to
identify how consumer complete the journey from knowing about a
product to making the purchase decision.
Understanding the customer’s buying process is essential for marketing
and sales.
The buyer decision process will enable to set a marketing plan that
convinces them to purchase the product or service for fulfilling the buyer’s
or consumer’s problem.
Consumers go through 5 stages in taking the decision to purchase any
goods or services:

1. Problem Recognition.
2. Information Search.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives.
4. Purchase Decision.
5. Post-Purchase Evaluation.

When making a purchase, the buyer goes through a decision process

consisting of 5 stages.
Clearly, the buying process starts long before the actual purchase and
continues long after.
The marketer’s job is to understand the buyer’s behavior at each stage and
the influences that are operating. The figure implies that consumers pass
through all five Stages with every purchase.
 Concepts of Marketing
There are 5 different concepts of marketing, each of which vary in
the function that they deal with. For example – production
concept deals with production and selling concept deals with
selling. Each of the concept was developed as per the need of the
market. As the market changed, so did the concepts of marketing.
And today, we have an opportunity to look at all 5 concepts of
marketing and what they represent.

1. Production concept
2. Product concept
3. Selling concept
4. Marketing concept
5. Societal marketing concept

The article lists out the concepts of marketing in a very brief

manner. You can click on each link to know more about
each individual concept of marketing.

1) Production Concept
Consumers prefer products that are widely available and
inexpensive. The production concept is more operations oriented
than any other concept. Click here to read more about
the Production Concept

2) Product Concept
Consumers favor products that offer the most
quality, performance, or innovative features. The product
concept believes in the consumer and it says the consumers are
more likely to be loyal if they have more options of products or
they get more benefits from the product of the company. Click
here to read more about the Product Concept
3) Selling Concept
Consumers will buy products only if the company aggressively
promotes or sells these products. Off course, in this era of
marketing, we know that selling is not the only tactic to sell your
product. You have to focus on marketing as well. Click here
to read more about the Selling Concept

4) Marketing Concept
Focuses on needs/wants of target markets & delivering value
better than competitors. The marketing concept believes in the
pull strategy and says that you need to make your brand so
strong that customers themselves prefer your brand over every
other competitor. This can be achieved through marketing. Click
here to read more about the Marketing Concept

5) Societal Marketing concept

Focuses on needs / wants of target markets & delivering value
better than competitors that preserves the consumer’s and
society’s well-being. Click here to read about the Societal
Marketing concept