Conscious consumption: How will it solve the problems of local businesses?
· 6 min read
Conscious consumption is a global trend. People are increasingly trying to meet their needs in the most sustainable and planet-friendly way.
A conscious and attentive attitude to everything that we buy, and use makes us rethink our daily practices: stop making impulsive purchases, abandon the habit of buying in advance and start reading labels carefully before buying.
To get a more or less reliable customer base, local businesses often have to invest effort, time, and money into working on reputation and brand recognition: participate in exhibitions and fairs, develop social networks, and more.
And some entrepreneurs, up to a certain point, do not see any other opportunities to get customers, except for the hope of word of mouth.
Force of habit also gets in the way: many consumers are accustomed to weekly stopping by a major retailer for everything they need (from groceries to stationery), and it is difficult for a local business to fit into this daily routine.
The shortage of personnel in the regions is a long-standing problem, and it is especially relevant for small production: a skilled worker is more likely to choose a reliable and stable company than a small family business.
Online, local businesses must compete with delivery giants who set extremely exacting standards.
As a result, ultra-fast delivery is becoming the norm for consumers.
And it’s hard for a small family bakery to compete with large services that promise to deliver “faster than going to the store yourself.”
Almost always, at the start, a local business is a small business: production, operating, and delivering in a certain territory.
The only adequate way for business development is growth, but this business needs to break away from the location and expand delivery areas.
Developing your own service (hiring couriers, setting up infrastructure) is a complex and labor-intensive decision that most local industries cannot afford.
Collaboration with large logistics companies also requires a lot of effort and often forces you to work at even lower margins.
So, today the local business is forced to solve a lot of complex problems and compete with companies that are initially in a different weight category.
However, small local productions also have a number of serious advantages over the mass market.
A small business is much more adaptable, mobile, and has a shorter decision-making chain.
This is what allowed many local companies to quickly go online during the pandemic, establish current sales channels, and “swim up”.
Local companies are focused not so much on the quantity as on the quality of goods, they have the ability to control production at all stages and prevent losses in product quality.
It is easier for small businesses to optimize all processes in accordance with established regulations, reduce harmful emissions during production, consider the most environmentally friendly packaging methods and implement other eco-initiatives.
A family-owned bakery will more easily take on complex, unique orders, such as a motorcycle-shaped cake or an unusual loaf for a wedding.
The readiness to quickly analyze the needs of the buyer, respond to the request, and bring new products to the market is a key advantage of the local store.
Local business is about long-term friendship, not about “buy here and now.”
There are many opportunities to keep the attracted buyer for a long time: make friends, advise, collect feedback, and build a full-fledged involving communication.
The main principles of conscious consumption are the rejection of short-lived goods and disposable packaging, the desire not to buy too much waste recycling, and the regulation of production volumes.
What can a local business do to comply with these principles and use them as a resource for development?
It is unlikely that a large factory can significantly reduce the production of a particular product and not suffer losses.
It is easier for small-scale production to follow demand, and some of the goods are made strictly to order.
Take care of waste-free production.
Consider packaging that can be recycled or reused.
If you choose between cellophane and craft paper, choose paper. If reusable containers are possible for food delivery, use them.
Help the customer not to buy more than he would like.
Stores sell products in small, tasting portions, and offer customers mini-sets, where each type of cheese, sweets, cosmetics, or other product is presented in small quantities. Do not throw anything away!
Tell us in detail about your production.
Use every opportunity to talk about the environmental friendliness of your product, and it is better not to be limited to just mentioning the words “natural” and “eco-friendly”, but to prove it with facts and interesting details.
The conscious consumer appreciates the details: how exactly do you make your candles? What raw materials do you use to make a glaze for ceramics? What dyes do you use to make clothes?
The answers to these questions are a much stronger basis for advertising than copying the big retailers with their emotional and sometimes uninformative slogans.
To secure a customer base among adherents of conscious consumption.
Use a strong idea to attract adequate employees.
Your principles of mindfulness and thoughtful attitude to production will attract bearers of these values to the company.
A culture of conscious consumption can attract a reliable and, by the way, solvent audience for a local business (conscious consumption is a trend that primarily covers the middle and premium segments of buyers).
At the same time, one must understand that all ideas and slogans must be backed up by practice.
The audience of environmentalists and sustainable consumers is extremely sensitive, and the brand can easily lose support if it is not careful to adhere to the principles that are important to it.
illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.
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