In it, 1,800 American adults were asked “do you think the green movement is more masculine or more feminine.” 82% said more feminine.

Okay. Wow! So sometime between the emergence of the modern environmental movement with its initial crises (burning rivers, nearnuclear melt-downs and oil slicks) and the emergence of present-day laundrylists of practical consumer actions, the average Joe gave up the cause and the average Jane picked up the daily duties. What the heck does this stat even mean?

Our best advice is to remember that, when it comes to consumer perception, rationalism doesn’t always prevail. What’s important for you, as a marketer, is to absorb the information and determine what it means -- for your company.

Here’s a good place to start:  if your current primary consumer market is dominantly female, then acknowledge, encourage and reward her green behaviors: recycling, re-using, conserving, preferring sustainable products, and making healthy safe choices for her family. Make sure you educate and continually inform her of your company’s sustainable actions. Tell her your story and motivate her, again through the media channels she uses, to tell her friends and family. Inspire her to be your brand ambassador.

If your current primary consumer is dominantly male, you have a bit more work to do. You need to dispel the “feminine mystique” before you can hope to change their behavior. A good place to start is by doing some research on your own customer or prospect base. Who are the most amenable and who are the most resistant consumers? Look at a generational segmentation of your data to find your most likely prospects.

Focus groups can certainly help you put a face to it. Consider sessions with those who are most open as well as those who are most closed in order to understand the depth of the resistance. This will offer your marketing team and agency some great options for communications strategies.

You can certainly go levels deeper into the psychology behind these perceptions, preferences, barriers and worldviews to truly overcome the obstacles. In our opinion, this is truly the voyage you need to take to build a comprehensive marketing approach. Red Kite can help you plum those depths and come up with a solid “what to do about it” strategy. 

 
Want to learn more? Tune into the podcast  recorded live at the LOHAS Forum with Red Kite principal Margaret McAllister and interviewer Carolyn Parrs.