Being an innovative leader means making tough decisions that can involve prioritizing one competing project over another. Upon first glance, it may seem like various projects would yield similar successes, and it can be difficult to decide which one gets top priority. In these cases, it is extremely beneficial to consider client or desire, as well as current market data, when deciding which area to address with your Six Sigma team.
If a project is in line with an issue or challenge that resonates with clients, then almost immediately there is interest and potential increased improvement in a product, service, corporate website or other deliverable. In addition to increasing the effectiveness of a product or service, Six Sigma projects related to corporate sustainability can be a strong potential marketing tool. More and more, the “glamorous” aspect of sustainability efforts can mean attracting a wider client base, but only if the efforts are genuine and permanent.
Getting to the Heart of Consumer Desire
Cost effective surveys that put qualitative data in quantitative terms can help elucidate shared sustainability challenges across a business sector or throughout a community of clients and customers. Getting to the measurable roots of issues that spark passion can drive business to an organization as well as positively address a sustainability challenge. Industry data supports the idea that taking some time to get to the heart of client desire may actually pay off in loyalty and referrals.
A 2009 Capstract survey indicated that 54% of respondents surveyed conveyed that sustainability was important in their decision-making processes. In fact, 59% indicated they would be willing to pay a little more for a product that was more sustainable.
Millennials in particular were the most likely to spend more on sustainable products. A steadily growing community of customers and clients are living more sustainably and desire their investments come into alignment with their decisions to make a more positive impact on the planet. But the desire to align personal environmental responsibility with brand choice and investment decisions is much larger than any one demographic indicator.
Global Consumers Tipping the Scale Toward Social and Environmental Sustainability
In 2014, the Nielsen Company released interesting results of several recent surveys. They surveyed 30,000 consumers in 60 countries. Over 55% of all respondents indicated that they would be willing to spend more to support brands that were the most socially and environmentally responsible. Among the issues that seemed to influence decision-making most were:
- Amount and type of product packaging
- Communication about business sustainability on packaging
- Ongoing brand loyalty built from previous purchases
While Millennials were still most likely to support products built with strong corporate sustainability built into the brand, the trend to support “green” products and business continues to grow across demographics.
Choose the Project with the most Potential
With the wide array of products and services available online that produce greater efficiency and effectiveness, it is important to consider what the growing number of environmentally conscious customers and clients desire most in their corporate relationships. For savvy Six Sigma leaders, the methodology can leverage desire into profit and boost triple bottom line performance for those organizations willing to embrace sustainability projects that matter most to the clients and customers who support them.
Taking the time to explore the potential of projects that best align with industry data and client trends can help leaders prioritize business sustainability projects across almost all business sectors.
