Can we please kill the term “Green Consumers?”

For several years now, I’ve been on a mission of sorts:  to encourage our clients to stop thinking of the people who buy and use their products and services as merely “consumers.”

People are so much more than what they purchase and we as marketers are missing the most interesting parts if we view them in only one dimension.

So now I’m taking my mission one step further:  I’m officially killing the phrase “Green consumers” from my vocabulary. It’s a bit of a contradiction in terms, isn’t it? Being green, in some instances, means not consuming – it means reducing, reusing, and recycling. Green is really more of a mindset – there are plenty of things a person can do to be sustainable that don’t involve buying a darn thing.

Instead of “consumers” or even “target audience,” let’s start calling those we want to speak to/motivate/inspire/encourage exactly what they are – people.

Try it out.  It’s a much stronger, real way to think about the people on the receiving end of your messages.  Which, therefore, will make your messaging stronger and more effective.