In much of the global building materials and construction industry, touting a product’s green attributes has become a common marketing approach. But simply making a claim about sustainability or performance is no longer sufficient for generating sales and expanding market share.

Today, an increasingly sophisticated market of specifiers, designers, owners, builders and end users requires manufacturers and others to base their marketing program on research and specificity.

Digging deeper: A recipe for effective marketing

In today’s marketplace, many indicators illustrate that green is good. Here’s just one: From October 2008 through February 2009, a total of 4,083 commercial construction projects were registered for LEED certification, up 66% from the same period a year earlier.

But capturing a piece of this burgeoning category requires a marketing program built on clear, well-documented facts regarding a product’s contributions to sustainability. Here are a few steps companies can take to build a platform for a fact-based green marketing program:

Understand your audience It makes sense to start by defining your market: Who are you are selling to, precisely, and what information will they require to select your product? An exploration of the decision-makers should include any certifications they may value, the importance they place on LEED, and so on.

Go deep This step provides a manufacturer with the core data required to build a fact-based program. What green claims can you credibly make, and how can you support or justify those claims. This may involve objective testing by an independent body, in-house research, in-the-field reviews and case studies, and other actions.

As noted above, LEED certification for commercial buildings has become increasingly important, as have other programs such as LEED for Homes and the NAHB’s National Green Building Program. But manufacturers must do more than simply state that their product contributes to LEED certification. Rather, they must clarify in precise terms how: which points the product supports in which categories, how the product contributes to that specific point, and items of that nature. (Some manufacturers now create LEED guides for architects and specifiers – a detailed document that provides this type of data in a succinct way.)

Finally, explore certification. Some certifications are more meaningful than others – both in their rigor and in the minds of the decision makers. For your product, determine which certifications offer value to your core audience.

Craft messages carefully You’ve defined your audience and researched your product in depth. Now, it’s time to identify the intersection of those two pursuits. What attributes will motivate your audience, and how can you relate those in a detailed, compelling way? It could revolve around energy efficiency, LEED, recycled content, or the use of wood from certified forests, among many other possibilities. Often, this is one area where manufacturers turn to a professional marketing firm.

Ideally, any efforts should aim also to provide a compelling visual and/or message for marketing use.

One of our clients, for example, took heat-sensitive photos of two identical homes in the northern U.S. – one that used the manufacturer’s reflective insulation, one that did not. These images provided a clear visual that supported research-based claims, and resulted in positive trade media coverage for that client.

Construct a plan Reaching a target audience requires the deployment of multiple marketing strategies: interactive marketing, trade advertising, sales materials, public relations efforts, and others. Each of these should be infused with the green messages you have developed. To maximize the value of your marketing budget, develop a comprehensive program – a step that will help any manufacturer prioritize tactics, generate a blueprint for the entire year, and help coordinate timing of execution.

Of course, there’s much more to creating a sustained green marketing program, but these strategies provide a framework for considering the key issues involved.

Reap the rewards

Developing a powerful green marketing program is by no means simple, but there can be significant benefits for those who undertake the effort. These products will enjoy differentiation from competitors, clear messaging and support for the sales team, and the depth and detail required for a campaign with “legs” – that is, one that can play out successfully over time.

A carefully constructed green marketing platform can also help bolster a company’s brand, establish it as a category leader and – last but definitely not least – generate additional sales.

If your green marketing program shares much with the approach described above, great – you’re ahead of the curve. If not, it may be time to consider rebuilding your program’s foundation.

Sidebar: Avoid these common missteps

Manufacturers touting the green attributes of a product tend to make a handful of the same marketing communications mistakes:

Shallow understanding of target markets: Too often, manufacturers develop marketing materials that provide a broad discussion of green attributes, but fail to link to the specific concerns or interests of their core audiences.

· Lack of detail: Without robust, specific support for a product’s sustainable attributes, a company lacks the strong foundation required for a long-term marketing effort.

· Weak (or non-existent) competitive analysis: Differentiating a product is a key to successful marketing. But, without a clear understanding of all competitors’ claims and benefits, it remains difficult to properly position a product in the marketplace.

· Marketing without a plan: A piecemeal approach tends to be more expensive, and less effective. By creating a coherent plan, the various elements of a program – interactive, advertising, sales materials, and so on – can work in concert.