Conscious marketing: How to implement a conscious marketing plan

Not only does conscious marketing define a style of marketing that emphasises the needs and desires of customers in a prioritised manner, it puts your entire operations into the spotlight.

Companies can no longer get away with being bystanders in the fight for equality, protection of the environment and overall, how they conduct business adhering to the a new code of conduct.

What does conscious marketing mean?

It appeals to organisations to go beyond looking at just a product or service, and being active in consciously running a business with intent. From how your source your products or materials, to how far you go in investigating supplier business practices including human rights, salary disparity, sustainability and equal rights, the onous on companies to do the right thing has never been more.

Principals around conscious marketing

Conscious marketing acknowledges key principals of having a higher purpose and consciously marketing to stakeholders and fostering culture within your organisation based on a conscious leadership ethos. Companies choosing to focus on the key principals of conscious marketing do so knowing that there will be slip-ups and a learning curve, but to actively acknowledge conscious marketing as a way forward will ultimately lead to a better run organisation, happier staff and customers who are connected to the brand in a way they may not have thought possible.

Leadership around conscious marketing

As a leader it can be daunting to undertake the role of a conscious leader especially in a world where slip-ups can end up on social media, and you can be called out for non-intentional mistakes that can ultimately tarnish your reputation. Putting it out there that you are a leader that is undertaking conscious marketing as part of your business strategy is brave and bold, but more rewarding than anything you have probably undertaken in your entire business life.

Ways that all leaders can adapt to a conscious marketing strategy:

Climate change

Play your part in being environmentally more sustainable. Avoid private jets (ake Prince Harry and Leonardo Di Caprio) as on most ears, when you travel on a private jet and yet spruik the importance of playing your part in climate change, you look like a fraud and you will be called out. Make recycling and carbon emissions not only a strategy because you have to, but because you want to. Don't buy company shirts that are not from recycled materials, use solar power or alternative energy where possible -- basically, have a strategy in place to lessen the effect of your business on the environment and plant trees to counteract the impact your organisation has on the environment. Empower your staff to think consciously about the environment at home and give them the tools to do so.

Conduct

From human resources through to the way your team interacts with telemarketers, create change. Teach your team kindness, patience and understanding - as the world needs this more today than ever before. Hire people that have the right cultural fit and share the values of your organisation. Care about the people that are in your company and joining your business. Make sure that there is no subconscious bias in the recruitment process, or that men are the only people in your leadership team. Show active steps to contribute to the community you live in and help the lives of others. Know your people and the struggles that they go through.

Profiting

If the CEO is taking home millions yet there are people that work for your organisation in third-world countries on $100 a week/month, your organisation is not only not undertaking conscious marketing, it is aiding to homelessness, mental health challenges and people that go without food and clean water. Wake up and see that profit is not the only measure of success for a business. Doing the right thing is. Play a fairer game and provide all of your staff with salaries that are commensurate with the roles they work in.

Language and Communications

Hire a Conscious Marketing Coach to help your business established a way to communicate internally and externally in a more conscious manner. Most large corporations have a conscious marketing language and communications coach on staff, but smaller organisations can either spend a lot of time reading and learning, or hire a part-time consultant that helps the company foster a more conscious way to communicate.

Conscious marketing is easier said than done, but it's less about making mistakes and more about actively trying to create a conscious business environment from leadership all the down to reception staff and mail receivers.

Set up an internal team 

Get buy-in from your team by including them in developing the conscious marketing strategy. Let them participate in how far your organisation is prepared to go to create a better work and business environment. Allow your team to be the "Conscious Marketing Police" and empower them to hold each other to account.

Conscious marketing is a work-in-progress that every company should be undertaking. Make a difference today by being a leadership, establishing a consious marketing plan and championing good business practices. I know Marketing Eye will be in 2022 and hopefully, we can all work together with our partners and customers to be more conscious about how we run businesses.

Image: Give a shoutout to //unsplash.com/@danifunes" Daniel Funes Fuentes everyone!