Sundowner Sustainability Consulting
Connect with Us
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Why Us
  • Services
    • Overview
    • Who We Work With >
      • Hospitality
      • Businesses & Corporations
      • Non Profit/Local Government
      • Higher Education
  • Resources
  • Contact Us

How do you Sell Something When it's Free? (4 Common Messaging Traps)

8/15/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
If you've ever tried to recruit volunteers, get feedback from the general public, have people apply for a great opportunity, or any number of actions that are totally free to the person you're targeting, you know that this can actually be pretty hard!

Nonprofits and local governments in particular offer many free services you would think are a win-win.  After all, who wouldn't want free rebate money, or provide feedback on adding more bike lanes on their local streets, or to attend a great community event?


As a "free" institution, it's very easy for organizations that don't charge for their services to get caught in these 4 common traps with their messaging:

  • Thinking that "because I'm passionate about this topic, everyone else must be too!"  This is a common problem with environmental messaging, as it'll often have a value statement centered around the environment as opposed to the other, higher priorities their target audience has.  This often resonates poorly with businesses and the general public in particular as the environment is not typically their highest priority value.  For example, if you're trying to get the public to support alternative transportation, maybe a better emphasis is "enjoy a shorter commute" as opposed to "it's good for the environment."  
     
  • Forgetting that time= money for most people.  If you're making the action/commitment difficult, or time-consuming, your service or benefit isn't really "free," and will need the assistance of some incentives.  This brings us to our next trap which is...  

  • Not identifying WIIFM ("What's in it for me?").  Even if you have the greatest service, event, etc. in the world, your target audience will still need to think it's relevant to them personally if you want them to respond.  Make sure to articulate those benefits in a way that people can apply it personally.  For example, a student may be somewhat interested in helping at your beach clean-up event (i.e. "help the environment"), but is more likely to actually sign up if it's also presented as an opportunity to satisfy community service hours.  

  • Not having a clear call to action.   Many junk e-mails lead with vague requests for support, help, time, etc. without a clear definition of what that looks like.  You want someone's feedback, not necessarily their time.  You want people to donate, not just their "support."  Making that request as specific and clear as possible at the outset will make it easier for your target audience to participate and continue "supporting" your mission.

Want more advice on how to get better community or employee engagement for your sustainability initiatives?  E-mail us at info@sundownersustainability.com to schedule your free initial one-hour consultation today!

0 Comments

Behind the Scenes:  2014 Community Clean Up Event

7/31/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
As anyone who has planned an event can tell you, it's a lot of work!  For government agencies and non profits, limited staff bandwidth combined with large public events means they can use all the help they can get.  Looking Good Santa Barbara's 11th annual Community Clean Up event, which brought together approximately 400 community members in support of beautification projects throughout the East and Westside neighborhoods of Santa Barbara was no exception.  To make a great event even better, Sundowner Sustainability offered pro-bono consulting services to pay attention to the green event features so organizers could keep their focus on the big picture.

One of the most useful features Sundowner focused on was creating a paperless online registration system.  Creating a publicly available survey that captured critical information allowed Sundowner and City staff to track how many volunteers planned to attend, what kind of projects they wanted to participate in, and ensure sufficient project materials for everyone.  There was also an online survey that allowed businesses to pledge participation and supplies virtually instead of snail mailing paper forms.  Together, the systems made registration paperless and ensured a successful event.

Event planners also wanted to make sure catering vendors, participants, and organizers were all on board with the City's efforts to make this a zero-waste event.  Historically, participants would have a hard time knowing how to sort effectively, or vendors would bring supplies that were non-compostable, reducing the effectiveness of the zero-waste bins.  Sundowner took the lead on communicating with food vendors to make sure they understood that compostable utensils and plateware would be available on-site, and double check on potential sources of waste.  When it comes to waste sorting, Sundowner strongly believes in the concept of creating waste signage that is customized to what's being served at the event.  As a result, Sundowner came prepared with interactive signage templates and physically attached examples of the appropriate waste to the signs.  Case and point:  it's a lot easier to look down at your plate, see the exact same plate posted on the waste sign, and know where to put it as opposed to having to read through a long list of potential materials to figure it out... wouldn't you agree? 



To bring the waste sorting message home, we also had an interactive waste sorting game for volunteers at the end of the event.  In exchange for prizes, participants could sort through a pile of sample waste items ranging from plastic bottles to batteries and place them in the appropriate "bins" (labeled sections of our sorting box).  The more items they placed correctly, the more points they earned.  It was a great way to educate people about waste streams in Santa Barbara, and how to appropriately dispose of unique items like CDs/DVDs and foodscraps.  

If you want help implementing green features like this at an upcoming event, don't forget to contact Sundowner for a free consultation (info@sundownersustainability.com).  For a news article containing more information on the event, click here. 
1 Comment

    Archives

    December 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    Author

    Sundowner offers a full range of sustainability ("green") consulting services to help organizations improve their environmental performance while saving time and money in the process.  Read on for more tips and case studies on how to make our mission part of your mission! 

    Categories

    All
    Businesses
    Certifications
    Education
    Energy
    Government
    Green Event
    Hotels
    Non Profit
    Rebates
    Waste

    RSS Feed

info@sundownersustainability.com  |  (805) 419-0635