What Distributors Say About Their Green Promos

While some distributors are making a point to suggest eco-friendly promo options to their clients, others are feeling the push from the outside. See how a few of your peers are handling this growing product category and the roadblocks they’ve faced.

Patrick Doyle tends to initiate green product discussions, but his customers are taking to it like bees to honey. "The second eco-friendly is brought up in conversation, my clients’ eyes light up," says the owner of Proforma Synergy. "There’s a general sense that becoming environmentally friendly is something important to do — and that green products are something that people are looking for."

To understand varying interest levels in the green movement, first identify what type of buyer you’re dealing with. Cliff Endicott, a sales professional with Proforma Maksylewich & Associates, observes four types of buyers: those extremely concerned with cost; those looking to represent their company values, which increasingly include decreasing environmental impact; those who genuinely care about the environment; and the largest group, those wanting to project an image of eco-friendliness as a selling point. "All successful companies, for PR purposes if for nothing else, need to show their customers that they are listening to what they think is important," he maintains.

Alyson H. Wentz, a sales partner with Geiger Midlantic in Hatfield, Pa., has noticed a similar spectrum of client types. Some who find the environment really important are willing to pay more, she notes. Those who deal more in lip-service tend to back off from green products when they realize how they’ll affect the pocketbook. The green movement, she says, is still in its infancy. "I think its building, but people have to tune into the fact that a lot of the times this stuff is still going to be more expensive, and they have to be willing to put out some additional money to have the benefit of having something that’s environmentally friendly," Wentz explains. "And not everybody is willing to put their money where their mouth is."

But at least for some end users, money may be becoming less of a consideration, Endicott reports. He cites a customer who wanted tote bags for $1, but scaled back the quantity to purchase an eco-friendly alternative at $3.42. "Companies willing to pay 300 percent more for an identical product demonstrates pretty powerfully that this is a buying trend we all need to be aware of and fit into our plans."

The sheer amount of environmental terms with their subtle variations is enough to scare away the timid, and with good reason. Distributors are reporting that many clients are knowledgeable about ecological lingo, and those who are not, expect their promotional consultant to be.

Bethany Brevard, owner of Proforma Creative Solutions, reports her clients don’t all know much about the green world, so she has to be the expert. "They think the idea of green is cool. They are depending on me for the knowledge about the specifics of the materials and products for their eco-friendly promotions."

But Endicott confesses to quite a different experience. "For the most part, the customers that I’m selling to are extremely knowledgeable," he admits. He’s been asked whether items are from post-consumer or pre-consumer recycled materials and faced clients who are