Authentic Matters – Even for Cleaning Products

I recently came across this piece on the Fast Company blog. In a nutshell it talks about how as the economic downfall has hit consumers – they are buying less green cleaning products.

At first glance, this is disheartening to read – confirming many fears and suspicions that the green movement was too trendy to maintain steam. 

There is a bright side however, as the article goes on to say that consumers are buying less green products from traditional cleaning products companies – such as Clorox and SC Johnson Wax. Meanwhile,  for green products from companies that were conceived with an authentic mission and primary purpose to create less harm to the environment –  sales continue to grow.   

The article titled, ”The Triple Value Proposition: Why Inauthentic Brands are Doomed to Fail,”  suggests that the reason companies like Seventh Generation and Method were able to retain their consumer base and grow even during hard times – is because they are authentic to who they are.

I couldn’t agree more.

Companies like Clorox jumped onto the bandwagon with fairly convienent timing – while green products were soaring in popularity – and continued to sell their traditional formulas alongside. But fickle brands breed fickle consumers, and just like these companies were willing to turn tides at a moment’s notice for perceived profit potential, their customers were just as willing to ditch the slightly more expensive products when times got tough. 

The lesson is fairly simple –  If you want to truly build a relationship and community around your brand or service – then you must live it authentically inside and out. Method and Seventh Generation proved that by living their mission as a way of doing business – they were able to truly connect with consumers who will remain loyal for the long haul.