â–¶ Prove It or Lose It: According to a new BBMG Conscious Consumer Report called “Redefining Value in a New Economy,” 77% of surveyed consumers believe they “can make a positive difference by purchasing products from socially or environmentally responsible companies,” but 23% admitted they have “no way of knowing” if a product is green or actually does what it claims to do. To verify green claims, consumers are:
• Most likely to turn to consumer reports: 29%
• Most likely to look at certification seals of labels on products: 28%
• Most likely to consider the list of ingredients on products: 27%
• Least likely to look to statements on product packaging: 11%
• Least likely to believe company advertising: 5%
Among the other findings:
• 67% Americans agree “that even in tough economic times, it is important to purchase products with social and environmental benefits;”
• 51% are “willing to pay more” for them;
• 66% say price is important in purchase decisions;
• 64% look for quality;
• 55% want “good for your health;” and,
• 41% cannot name a single company that they consider the most socially and environmentally responsible.
Source: BBMG
â–¶ Sustainability Proves to Be Sustainable Despite Economy: When it comes to investing in sustainable business behaviors and programs, more than half of corporate marketers and communicators believe that their organizations will increase their involvement in sustainability initiatives during the next two to three years, according to a survey conducted by the American Marketing Association and Fleishman-Hillard. Among the findings:
• 58% of surveyed execs believe their companies will place more emphasis on developing corporate sustainability opportunities in the months ahead;
• Nearly 75% believe that corporate reputation, corporate culture and technological advancements will be drivers for sustainability;
• Approximately 43% expect their companies to increase marketing of their sustainability programs;
• 53% define sustainability as the need to balance financial, human and natural resources for the long-term benefit of business and communities.
• Few define sustainability in terms of focusing on renewable energy resources (3%) or driving inefficiency out of the supply chain (10%); and,
• Employees (82%) and customers (74%) are more likely to be the targets of communications about sustainability than are investors and analysts (52%).
Source: AMA and Fleishman-Hillard
â–¶ Benefits Communications Drives Bottom Lines: A strong benefits communications plan can lead to greater employee satisfaction and a stronger bottom line for business, according to a new white paper released by Colonial Life. Key findings include:
• 90% of surveyed employers agree it’s important to their business that employees understand and appreciate their benefits, but only 21% think their employees actually have a good understanding of them.
• 94% are interested in gaining access to resources to help educate employees about benefits.
• 90% said having one-to-one meetings significantly improves employees’ understanding of their benefits.
• 85% of surveyed employees feel happy about their benefits enrollment when their employer gives them all the resources needed to make informed decisions.
• Employers can expect to realize key business and competitive advantages when they implement a strong benefits communications and education program, including decreased turnover, enhanced recruiting, increased enrollments, reduced benefits administration, more engaged and loyal employees and improved productivity.
Source: Colonial Life
â–¶ E-Mail Open Rates Increase: Epsilon’s Q4 2008 U.S. E-mail Trend Results study reveals that key performance metrics are on the rise despite the recession. Namely:
• Open rates increased for the third quarter in a row to 20.9%; and,
• Deliverability increased from 93.1% in 2007 to 94.4% in 2008.
Source: Epsilon