Here’s the hard reality about climate tech…
Businesses DON’T buy climate tech because they want to save the planet. 😯
That might be a welcome side effect of buying climate tech.
BUT . . . saving the planet isn’t a use case; it’s not a practical goal any single business, government, or group can set or accomplish.
And ultimately, decision-makers in these organizations have to buy things because they have a job to do, specific tasks to complete.
🚌 Let’s take electric buses, for example. 🚌
Why are more and more transit agencies buying them?
To get more people to take the bus
↪ by providing more routes and an improved rider experience
↪ in order to reduce traffic in their city
↪ so that residents can get to their jobs easily
↪ and contribute to the economy
↪ which puts tax money back into the city’s pocket.
(Other motivations also include replacing older buses coming to the end of their useful life or complying with government regulations.)
These are examples of “jobs to be done,” to use a term coined by innovation thought leader Tony Ulwick.
In other words, they’re tasks that transit agency employees are responsible for doing on a practical level (regardless of whether or not they choose climate tech solutions to do them).
So they are buying electric transit buses to get their baseline work completed.
This is important to hear. ⤵ ⤵
The main reason business decision-makers purchase climate tech is for the SAME reason: they have work to do. 👨💼
(And even if they’re glad the new solution will be better for the planet, it’s not their driving motivation.)
So if the main reason climate tech companies give them to use a product is to save the planet, then there’s a fundamental discrepancy between the customer’s needs and the company’s messaging.
Businesses have to make money . . . which means they have to work which means they need climate tech products that help them get that work done more efficiently, economically, and effectively.
So the marketing message should spell out how the climate tech can help them with this:
❌ It’s NOT this: “Buy an electric bus because it’s good for the planet.”
✅ It’s this: “Buy an electric bus because riders will keep coming back for the smoother, quieter ride!”
Can your company’s climate tech product help businesses work better?
Then start your marketing messaging there!