Conscious Marketing – Value in shared customer goals & ease of opting out

With increasing competition within the digital marketing space, marketing has run through various transitions over the years, each affecting your business differently. Not all of it is great. Paying for fake followers or engaging with bots can bring you some business in the short term, but will likely damage brand reputation in the long run. Adapting sustainable and transparent approaches on the other hand can bring positive outcomes.

Conscious marketing is all about making ethical choices within your business operations and promoting customer priority and power at the forefront of marketing, maximising their satisfaction and urging them to make the best purchases for their own well-being. Rather than focusing on revenue and profits this style of marketing places ethics at its heart.

Conscious marketing can be linked with the values of a company and the ways in which they operate. Being conscious of its social responsibility, being transparent with its shareholders and customers and showing support to the local community whilst also demonstrating diversity and inclusion; making the world a better place than it was before the company’s existence. Most importantly, giving your customers the true sense of being a part of a grand positive movement within your brand.

The philosophy of conscious marketing is built on the belief that transparency and customer satisfaction will lead to lower marketing costs in the long run and increased loyalty amongst customers. According to HubSpot, conscious marketing campaigns have a higher customer-brand reputation, increased loyalty and are more likely to convert. Typical email marketing campaigns tend to have a 0.6% conversion average, whilst conscious email campaigns can increase performance by 10%!

Conscious marketing doesn’t have limitations and can yield even better results by respecting client data, communication choices, and making it overall a great experience for them.
Receiving an email with an offer from a brand you like can be great, but imagine receiving a personalised, tangible letter addressed to you, with a discount on the products you like, and contributions going to a charity or to offset the carbon footprint you’re creating?

Paperplanes programmatic direct mail does just that – it personalises and suggests the next best purchase for each customer that is mailed. This is both conscious in that it uses data to eliminate waste and determine the best choice for the customer to make as well as being effective. Take for example next best purchase campaigns converting up to 30% of mailed customers, far beyond the capabilities of its digital and physical counterparts.

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CSR

Modern corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a “self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders and the public. Companies can be conscious of the impact they are having on all aspects of society, including social, economic and environmental. CSR allows companies to develop in their business and equally contribute positively to its society and all parties involved ‘(Investopedia,2022). Looking into ways that enhance rather than degrade the environment helps provide a better brand image by default as well as raise morale in the workplace.

Giving your customers a shared vision of sustainability will strengthen your bond with your consumers and as a result will boost organic SEO, acquisition and retention strategies.
To read more on sustainability in direct mail marketing read our dedicated blog: https://paperplanes.co.uk/programmatic-direct-mail-environmentally-positive-marketing/

At Paperplanes, CSR is something we take seriously, and our mission is geared around reducing waste through the efficient use of data and always ensuring we are accountable for our impact on the environment. For example, Paperplanes partners with TeamTrees to help minimise our carbon footprint on the planet. By replanting trees to replace the sheets of paper we use to mail our customers, we are taking accountability for our overall impact on the world and its valuable resources.

Typically the effects of CSR will have a smaller impact on sales and revenues as time passes. Consumers will get used to and expect a certain level of social responsibility from an organisation, however, this only means that the level of CSR has to be increased by the organisation.

(Perry P. ,2020)

Transparency

When marketing with a conscious strategy a firm would benefit from being transparent with its processes, data, and operations; making its actions clear and observable to its shareholders and the public who might be reading news or updates on the said firm.

Though there are many reasons to be transparent across operations and departments, transparency is more important for a company’s marketing function. A firm’s marketing strategy could be made more effective with greater transparency. Building consumer trust could lead to consumers becoming more responsive to marketing via social media, TV marketing and direct mail build brand equity..

What makes this approach conscious? Ensuring the above will increase consumer trust and satisfaction with the company’s services or products, leading to an overall stronger marketing campaign.

Support community/customer satisfaction

The conscious marketing concept and strategy positively impact customer satisfaction, especially when customers are put at the forefront of the mission.

Conscious marketing should take into consideration customer preferences. Since the GDPR regulations came into force in 2018, over 40% of customers have opted out of direct marketing in the UK, according to Deloitte. This makes it clear that many do not find the marketing pieces directed towards them of any value. This percentage is gradually increasing over the years, as more data restrictions come into play, and more ‘spam’ is flooding consumers inboxes. Allowing for ease to opt out of your marketing, whether it’s physical or digital, will give customers the sense that your material and brand are valuable. No one likes to have to click through multiple links and buttons or send back letters to opt-out.

A simple opt-out process is a welcome step towards responsible and conscious marketing, giving subscribers power and alleviates marketers from blame through their own choice.

A potential way to make customers more satisfied is through Paperplanes utilisation of first-party data to drive increased relevance and efficiency in selecting a customer universe for mail. At Paperplanes we provide your consumers with a personalised marketing experience as well as perfectly timed offers. By not overwhelming consumers with spam through physical or digital mail firm’s can build a higher level of customer trust and improve the perception of the business. Personalisation is key! Businesses should not simply send all its consumers the same offers at a high frequency but rather make a conscious effort to genuinely improve a customer’s experience.

Get in touch to learn more about optimising your marketing budget and simultaneously partaking on a CRS journey that will benefit your brand, your profits and your soul equally!