How to Attract Socially Conscious Consumers

By Rieva Lesonsky

Consumers who care about social issues are often willing to vote with their pocketbooks by patronizing businesses that are socially conscious. What do these consumers look for when considering what companies to buy from? How can your company capture their dollars and their loyalty? A global Nielsen survey of more than 28,000 people has some answers that can help your business.

Around the world, most consumers (66 percent) prefer to buy from companies that are making a positive difference in the world by implementing programs to give back to society. That preference extends to other matters as well. Consumers also prefer to work for or invest in socially conscious companies. And almost half are willing to pay extra for products and services from these socially conscious companies.

If your business targets younger consumers, it’s important to know that they’re more likely to be socially conscious. Socially conscious consumers make up 55 percent of all consumers, but 63 percent of consumers under age 40. Younger consumers aged 15 to 39 are also more likely than older ones to be willing to pay extra for products and services from socially conscious companies (51 percent are willing to do so, compared to 37 percent of respondents over age 40).

So how can you attract these consumers to your cause?

Earn their trust. Consumers are very aware of companies that “greenwash” or make outsize claims about social responsibility. Be sure you’re not puffing up your accomplishments more than they deserve. Your website, marketing materials and even product packaging need to be clear about what you are doing and how it affects the causes you’re involved in.

Get social. Socially conscious consumers are more likely than consumers in general to trust recommendations from people they know, and to look online for opinions, reviews and information posted by others. Socially conscious consumers are more likely than others (59 percent vs. 46 percent) to say they use social media in making purchasing decisions, so if you’re not already involved in social media, it’s a great way to reach these consumers. If you are already using social media, consider advertising there: Socially conscious consumers were more likely than the average consumer to trust ads on social networks.

Choose the right advertising vehicle. Traditional advertising and marketing has a place in socially conscious consumers as well. In terms of paid advertising, socially conscious consumers most trust outdoor, TV and print media. Interestingly, they’re more trusting of all types of advertising than the average consumer.

To download the full study, visit Nielsen’s website.

Image by Flickr user tup wanders (Creative Commons)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Generational Marketing, Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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