Whether you believe in global warming or not, in today’s market, you can really only benefit from initiating some “green” processes for your business. Not only will this boost your creditability to any potential conservation-conscious consumer, it may also help save you money.

One of the best things that may have ever happened to trees was the Internet. Here are some ways to use it to its “green advantage:”

Declare your business a “paper-free” zone.

-      Encourage your employees to use a shared drive to work on projects.

-      Instead of snail mail, use email to send out promotions and newsletters.

-      Use SEO and social media avenues to help increase web traffic to your site (therefore negating the need for mailings all together).

Understandably, most businesses can’t function completely without paper. But there are many ways you can still conserve.

-      Buy in bulk. Doing so reduces the amount of energy required for packaging and shipping. It will also save you money.

-      Encourage recycling by having bins available around the office.

-      Avoid printing large quantities of time-sensitive advertisements.

-      Avoid mass-mailings and instead send well-researched direct mail.

Every business setting is unique, so chances are there a variety of additional ways that you can help reduce, reuse, and recycle within your company. At Dreamscape, we purposefully chose a dark background color for our website, because darker pixels require less energy. This also helps us reduce our monthly energy bill.

But beyond saving money, you may actually see a return on your green “investment,” as many consumers consider environmental sustainability when choosing a product or service.

Traditional business dictates that sales leads be generated through sales people. The most common roadblock we face at Dreamscape Marketing when explaining the power of a website to potential clients is the “traditional sales” argument. A popular belief amongst brick and mortar businesses is that a website is simply a sign post for customers to navigate to when they need an email address, phone number or office location. These businesses believe their sales will only come from where they have always originated, a sales force. What these businesses do not realize, and what may end up hurting them in the long run, is that the market for sales properly utilizing the internet is enormous for ANY business model.

A strategically designed website, developed utilizing a combination of search engine optimization and content building techniques, could not only improve your sales, it could begin generating sales for you in your sleep! Businesses must realize that internet marketing is the future of traditional marketing. Within the next decade, as millennial’s enter the workforce, lead generation will fully integrate into the digital arena.

If you need a recent reminder of this trend, look no further than your own business. Four years ago, “green” business was restricted to paperless credit card statements and cell phone bills. However, today, I guarantee your business has taken some steps to become more environmentally friendly. Website development has assisted this movement with huge steps, integrating websites with operating systems and moving data from print to PDF just to name a few examples. Green marketing is now the future of marketing. In order to stay competitive in business, companies must be ready to utilize eco-friendly marketing techniques to stay on par with competitors.

In much the same way, lead generation through a properly optimized website is the future of sales. With a dynamic website that ranks your business for relevant keyword searches, your sales area will expand from regional to global. Another advantage is that your website, unlike your company’s salespeople, does not have a salary, health benefits, vacation, sick days, sales metric bonuses, or suffer from bouts of procrastination. It will work for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Additionally, website development and optimization services can be performed to a level that fits within your business’s operating budget. Your return on investment from the proper development of a website can often be measured in multiples of spend. Using products like Google Analytics, marketing consultants can track this data for you and present it in a concise and clear manner.

We recently had the opportunity to work with Rhino Group Media,  a Philadelphia website development client. Rhino Group launched a site with an interactive flash sample portfolio that creates an unique experience for their site visitors, while simultaneously providing compelling sales messaging.

Instead of restricting yourself to your traditionally customers, think outside the box ahead of the curve. Using your website to generate sales leads today can lead to significant business growth tomorrow.