How to resonate with buyers on the corporate climate journey
Insights and strategies for connecting with customers at each stage
Hello friends,
Last week we broke down the three stages of corporate climate maturity. Understanding these various stages is a critical step for climate tech marketers because goals, challenges, and priorities change significantly along the corporate climate journey.
(Did you miss it? See the full breakdown here.)
This week, we’re offering insights and strategies for connecting with customers at each stage of the corporate climate spectrum.
Let’s jump in, shall we?
How to resonate with customers in Stage 1
When targeting Stage 1 companies, position your brand as a ‘guide.’
In the early days of their climate journey, most companies just need help knowing where to start. Many sustainability leads will be doing this for the first time — and they don’t know what they don’t know.
For climate tech marketers, this stage is all about guiding potential buyers through the often confusing world of corporate climate action.
Some advice:
Speak to the individual.
You’re likely speaking to a singular individual who is just beginning to navigate the complexities of climate responsibility. They’re seeking easy entry points into the corporate climate journey.
Keep the focus on company impact.
At this stage, the climate focus for most companies is largely internal — they need to understand and manage their own impact before they can consider broader initiatives.
Simplify your message.
Instead of diving straight into the details of jobs to be done, focus on how your solution helps your customers achieve an end result or get from A to Z.
Sell climate action.
In these early days, highlight the many ways in which embarking on a climate journey can benefit the company.
Focus on education.
Companies in Stage 1 are seeking to ‘get their house in order’ but often don’t know where to start. Offer tools and advice that are accessible to non-experts and showcase relatable case studies from peers who are also in the early stages of their journey.
How to resonate with companies in Stage 2
When targeting Stage 2 companies, position your brand as a ‘facilitator.’
Stage 2 is what we call ‘doing the work.’ It’s the least flashy part of the corporate climate journey, and it is undoubtedly the most important.
For climate tech marketers, this stage is all about facilitating — helping your customers achieve specific results on specific tasks.
Some advice:
Move beyond ‘big picture’ and offer deeper, more specific insights.
Stage 2 companies have laid the groundwork and are now ready to delve deeper into the nuances of climate and sustainability. While you don’t need to sell them nearly as much on the benefits of climate action, you’ll absolutely need to sell the benefits of your solution within their climate journey. Be very clear on your specific value proposition.
Focus on data and analytics.
These companies have a clear understanding of the big picture problem, have taken some of the simpler steps, such as switching to renewable energy providers, and are now faced with more daunting tasks, such as calculating scope 3 emissions or preparing for complex reporting requirements.
Get more tactical.
Focus on operations, systems, efficiency, and scale. Talk about specific solutions and help companies make the important decisions around sustainability investments and initiatives.
How to resonate with companies in Stage 3
When targeting Stage 3 companies, position your brand as a ‘partner.’
At this stage, the focus moves away from mitigating the company’s impact and beyond operationalizing sustainability. The biggest priority is making a meaningful climate contribution — they’re seeking a partner invested in helping them make a dent in the global climate problem.
Some advice:
Get aspirational.
Bring it back to the big picture and global impact. While messaging doesn’t need to be simplified, as these teams typically have highly technical experts on staff, it does need to be magnified.
Highlight what is groundbreaking.
Stage 3 companies are ahead of their peers, and they’re proud of it. Help them see how they can leverage your solution to further their reputation as climate leaders.
The takeaway?
The way you speak to your customers should look and sound different based on where they sit on the spectrum of corporate climate maturity. Climate tech marketers will find that while companies in Stage 2 will require increasingly specific value propositions, companies in Stages 1 and 3 need you to zoom out — what’s the big picture?
And that means…
Whether you position your brand as a ‘guide,’ a ‘facilitator,’ or a ‘partner’ is dependent on which stage of the corporate climate journey your target customer is in.
The challenge ahead:
In the coming years, the bulk of work for climate tech marketers will be in addressing companies in Stages 1 and 2 — those finding their feet and doing the unsexy work of grappling with the day-to-day operations challenges inherent to the corporate climate journey.
Unless you’re dealing with companies in Stage 3 (few and far between at this stage of global climate progress) — avoid being overly aspirational in your value proposition and messaging. Instead, focus on the myriad of benefits your solution provides to individual and company.
Educational resources
A favorite phrase from this one comes to mind — that of ‘stubborn hope.’ This collection of essays from Indigenous activists, climate scientists, poets, and longtime organizers is an invitation to participate in the climate movement more boldly by imagining the future more creatively.
People who work in climate tech are a rare breed in today’s world: they’re optimists. ‘Enlightenment Now’ is the optimist’s bible. This book is the context you need to make sense of trying times, and it’s full of facts, figures, and reframes to help bring others over to the bright side.