The Awakening Consumer And You
I’m just back from a hopeful and exciting conference on homebuilding and how to create vibrant community, and am gathering my thoughts to share in a future post. In the meantime, I wanted to make sure you all saw this MediaPost commentary by Hugh Hough of GreenTeamUSA about the “Awakening Consumer.”
The first few paragraphs alone should get your attention:
Can the green movement survive red ink? We’ve been asking ourselves that question for the past six months, but now it seems more pressing than ever.
The answer is yes.
The reason why is the Awakening Consumer market segment. This is a group of over 49 million Americans who are awakening to the power they wield in the marketplace. Awakening to the idea that they can drive social and/or environmental change by choosing one brand over another. These are consumers with a strong sense of personal values, and they now expect the same from the companies they do business with.
In a nutshell, the Awakening Consumer segment supports brands whose values are in line with its own.
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Whether male or female, this Awakening Consumer would seem to be evaluating and making buying decisions about brands using more “feminine” brain traits. This person is looking above, beyond and around the usual linear facts and figures to see how green-pitching brands really measure up.
If you’ve already been studying a woman’s buying mind, you know this “awakening” consumer well. Now, bad economy and all, is a great time to keep your eye on the underlying, powerful trend toward green/sustainable consuming.
