Recap: How to use scenarios
Scenario products are dummy products you can create to calculate and compare the estimated footprints for products you don't own- or don't exist yet.
They excel when used in the comparisons feature. For example:
New customers: Your potential customer currently purchases from another supplier and is interested in switching to you. In this case: (1) Ask your customer for details on the product they currently purchase, (2) model a scenario product, (3) compare it to your inventory product (the product you sell) to show the difference (4), win the deal.
Existing customers: Your customer has impact reduction wishes and wants to switch materials, transport distances, etc. (1) Model the scenario product by copying the inventory product they currently purchase, (2) change the product according to needs and (3) compare the scenario to currently purchased inventory product (4) win the deal (5) search for a new supplier that fits the scenario needs and create a new inventory product.
Best Practises: Creating scenario products
Copy inventory products where possible: This helps make sure your scenario product covers the same filled-out fields as the potential inventory product you're comparing to.
Double-check before verifying: Just as inventory products, scenario products should be checked to see if they're filled out with all the available data (even if this might be less data). It's good to know before sharing or comparing, which fields are unspecified - and therefore show worst-case scenario data.
Commercial interest for new suppliers: Make sharing (as much as possible) supplier data commercially interesting for potential new suppliers. Especially if you're making a scenario for a product you will purchase after a deal with a high chance of winning. This also helps speed up creating an inventory product for the new product after the deal is won.
How to use scenario products to win sales
Scenario products excel when used in comparisons where they can be used to quickly compare emissions between A and B.
Recreate products of customers to show how much better yours are
Recreate products of competitors the see how you do against them
Make copies from inventory products, change variables and see the impact
Can be used for procurement (future products)
Understand how different end-of-life scenarios impact the footprint
Let's take the example from the start of the article:
"My current supplier sells me virgin PE films. Do you know the actual impact difference if I'd switch to your recycled PE films?"
You can create a scenario product based on the product data your potential client shares about the virgin PE film they currently purchase. Compare it to your recycled PE film (inventory product) in Pickler's comparison feature and show the impact reduction potential!
Best Practises: Creating scenario comparisons
Double-check extreme result differences: Sometimes you get surprised by a difference in impact results between two products. Often this is the case due to a missing field you forgot to fill out.
Check filled-out data fields: Check if the scenario product has the same fields filled out as the product you're comparing to. If this isn't the case, comparing becomes harder, as worst-case scenario data fills the gaps and creates more extremes in comparisons. If you miss data in your scenario product, make sure to know why and how it impacts your comparison.
Compare to similar product categories: For fair comparisons, aim to make comparisons within the same product category/similar product categories.
Analyze impact hotspots before sharing: Before sharing a scenario comparison with your customer, dive into where the biggest impact differences come from. Ask yourself:
Which life cycle stage is most impactful? (eco costs - vs CO2-eq)
Which process or material causes these differences? (e.g. the market average for recyled paper has a more energy-intensive raw material production process than virgin paper)
If the end of life differs - how does the material cause this? (e.g. using recycled materials deducts points in end-of-life)
Best Practises: Sharing scenarios with clients
Aim to share live comparisons: Live comparisons are more dynamic and clickable, which improves your customer experience.
Double-check use cycles and product quantities: Ensure to take into consideration the use cycle and product quantities for your products based on the customer's needs.
Show confidence: Creating scenarios to guide your customers to make sustainable decisions is a unique service! Make sure your customers understand that. They will not be able to receive this kind of credible, independent, sustainability advice from your competitors.
Explain customer use: Aim to always explain what scenarios are and how they can be used by your customers. This will prove their unique value. Use this text as inspiration for your pitch:
"Scenario products enable us to create a proposal for the current product you purchase/your sustainability needs and wishes. And compare it to our offering/compare them to help you make a decision that fits your sustainability goals.
These scenario products are created based on the available product data you offered us on your current supplier/based on your changes from your current product(s). Hence, it's called a scenario product (as seen in the banner). Please understand the purpose of scenarios is to guide your decision-making. As we don't have all data available, scenario products cannot be used in any marketing claims - unless they become a product we sell and we can gather more product data".
Focus on your customer's needs: Often you don't have to highlight every result in the comparison. Focus on the aspects your customer is most interested in (the changes they wanted) and the impact values they find most interesting: eco costs or CO2-eq.