Clean Tech: Just Saying It Doesn’t Make It So

How can you can use “clean tech” as an effective branding tool?

Wait! Before jumping onto the latest bandwagon—clean tech—ask yourself this: what is clean tech? Here’s one definition: clean tech is any technology, product, or company that leaves the smallest possible environmental footprint. From consumer electronics to automobiles, from data centers to supermarket retailers, everyone lays claim to the clean tech label these days. However, simply calling yourself a clean tech company isn’t an adequate branding strategy anymore.

The fundamentals of branding haven’t changed—articulate what’s unique about your company and offering, give tangible evidence of the value you provide, and then create sound bites to which your target audience will respond. At the end of the day, branding is all about projecting the one critical value that will stick in the minds of potential customers. Terms like clean tech, green tech, eco tech or xyz tech are just words—you must back them up with proof points, customer examples, and metrics.

Dee Sharma is Strategic Marketing Manager at NAVAJO Company