Gonink - Design & Print

As our G3 Initiative slowly begins to take place, I’ve come to realize that it’s not all that easy and as Kermit the Frog always said, It ain’t easy being green.

For one it’s difficult locating local paper distributors who carry a large enough collection of different types of paper. It’s not so much whether they’re carbon neutral, chlorine free or even just recycled. The problem is finding those who carry different thicknesses and sizes of eco-friendly papers. Another problem with local distributors is trying to find one who hasn’t had their supply transported from a million miles away.

Secondly, staying focused. It’s not that I don’t want us to be more green, I certainly do, but it’s difficult to figure out where to start and follow the next steps through the entire process. Probably one of those situations where all goals need to be broken down into smaller ones.

And finally it’s hard to get people interested in our ideas because it does appear as if I’m just jumping on the bandwagon because everyone else is and that’s not the case. I truly due care about this and I hope I can convince others that it ain’t easy being green, but it sure does help.

A good friend and mentor of mine at Inside The Marketing Mind is always talking about doing nothing when it comes to marketing and luckily I’ve paid attention. And just recently I was talking to a friend / business colleague about advertising and promotion. During the conversation we got on the subject about a salesperson who was trying to sell both of us airtime on a local radio station during the annual festival. I had already mentioned the billboard, telephone book ad and newspaper ad’s we were using and then he said something that caught me off guard. “Show me numbers on the results in advertising and I’ll spend my money on it!” And he has a point – advertising and marketing is very difficult to measure. Getting a handle on the R.O.I. of your marketing dollars is always a challenge, but let’s also consider the alternative. Doing nothing.

For a moment, think of how well a business would do if they don’t advertise. They solely rely on W.O.M.A. (Word Of Mouth Advertising) and repeat customers. Can some businesses survive? Sure, there are those who have miraculously survived and grown with this tactic, but they are not the norm. It is critically important to be ‘out there’ and in front of your audience. Keep your company on the mind of your current and prospective customers and doing nothing will seem like the craziest idea you ever had.