Do you live in accordance with what you show the world, and do you reflect this in your business? Authenticity can determine the success of a business. People believe in you, and therefore they trust your products or services and buy them—or they don’t. So how authentic are you in your marketing?
There are entrepreneurs who try to imitate the marketing practices of large companies. They cast a large net that can hold many tons of fish—surely some clients will get caught. Others think that marketing is synonymous with falsehood and hypocrisy, so they avoid it or do it just for the sake of it. But marketing encompasses everything a company does, so you can’t do without it. Fortunately, it all depends on how you use it. If it is to be for your own benefit and that of your customers, authentic marketing is a great way to achieve this.
If you want to be successful in business, you should be authentic in your communication with customers. That means being genuine, honest, and yourself. Authenticity is not a cliché, but a reminder that birds of a feather flock together. The kind of person you are is the kind of clients you attract. It’s no secret that business is a great means of self-development.
The real face attracts
Authenticity is not a skill you learn in a course. It is a continuous peeling away of masks, old roles, patterns, and programs that we carry with us from the past (usually from childhood). They served us well in the past, but today they prevent us from realizing, expressing, and living our uniqueness. Both in our private lives and in business. Certainly not everyone will like you, but that’s probably the case now anyway. The healthy self-confidence you gain is definitely worth the “loss.” And most importantly, customers who are attracted to your true self will finally be able to come to you. They will be more likely to come if you manage to incorporate its essence into your marketing, which will then become authentic. The energy of attraction may be subconscious, but it is very powerful.
Marketing is not about nice promises and pretty pictures. It must deliver value. If you want it to work and be authentic:
- Avoid unfair practices
Aggression, manipulation, lies. The rule here is: don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you.
Retailers often write prices on product labels that they never paid. But they cross them out, write lower amounts underneath, and claim it’s a discount. This is definitely not fair, just like pressuring people to buy with phrases like “20 people are currently viewing this offer” or forcing services over the phone.
Treat customers with respect. They deserve truthful information so they can decide for themselves whether they want to buy. Inform, explain, offer, but use educational videos, practical e-books, and informative articles rather than imitating the practices of “hot water salespeople.”
- Communicate with human beings
Don’t let your client become a cell in an Excel spreadsheet. A cell has no needs, but your customer does. And to know what those needs are, you need to communicate with them. Authentic marketing does not prohibit tables, graphs, surveys, or any other work with data, but it does not forget that clients have names and specific stories and come to you with specific wishes.
- Offer what people really need
The art of selling literally anything is not valued in authentic marketing. Nettles wrapped in plastic on supermarket shelves, various household gadgets that you use once, maybe twice. Wastefulness is not in vogue; sustainability is. You don’t want to squeeze money out of your customer at any cost; you want to help them solve their real need.
- Do you know why you are in business?
You are not trying to squeeze money out of your customers; you are aware of the mission you set for yourself at the beginning. That is the driving force behind your business, the power that makes you work hard every day. Small business owners have it a little easier in this regard, because the company is usually just them or a small team. But even large companies can maintain their enthusiasm for what they do in the long term because authentic marketing reminds them of their initial passion every day.
- Prioritize your uniqueness over guidelines
Imagine you are considering which images to use on your company website. Should you use a photo bank or photos capturing the real environment and faces of your colleagues? Your company premises may not be aesthetically perfect, and your colleagues may not look as good as the smiling people in purchased photos. But this is about credibility and memorability. If you want to appear trustworthy and open, go for authentic photos.
Authentic marketing is based on who you are. It is up to you to turn this into a competitive advantage. This uniqueness and the way you are able to translate it into practice form your X-factor in a crowded market. Of course, you can use standard marketing tools as you see fit, but the essence comes from your personality, not from established guidelines.
Every good leader must be authentic. They can use any (ethical) specific practices when working with a team, but authenticity is the foundation on which their credibility is built. People do not respect those who play games and pretend, because they do not feel their strength. The strength of personality is directly linked to authenticity. And online MBA studies are guaranteed to cultivate uniqueness in students, not herd mentality.
