How to Develop a More “Authentic” Brand

Modern consumers value authenticity now more than ever. It’s the main feature that almost all brands must embody in order to appeal to their target audience. Corporate Business Solutions consultants occasionally find small businesses that have brands with an authenticity problem. The advice of “just be who you are” doesn’t always apply to companies. If your company is struggling to build an “authentic” brand”, here are several suggestions that might help:

Ditch the Jargon: Does the marketing team of your small business send out promotional material that often contains technical jargon or overused advertisement language? Don’t bother with sounding too formal, or too smart. Use everyday conversational language in all your brand promotional material. Customers do not engage with brands that sound robotic. If the brand sounds just like another “friend” on Facebook, then they will pay attention.

Come Up with a “Down-to-Earth” Founding Story: Every company needs a good founding story. It’s the backbone of getting more funding and humanizing a corporate entity to the public. When you write the founding story for your small company, do not go out of your way to make things up. It doesn’t have to be a script for a Hollywood movie. Be as real as possible. Tell it as it happened, but in an appealing story format. Don’t go overboard and present the company or the founders in a larger than life format. That is not appealing and looks disingenuous.

Use “Real Life” Images: Does your company spend a lot of money getting professional-grade photographs to show with the brand? That’s fine. But these pro shots should be combined with “real” or “day-to-day” shots of staff being human beings. Such images could include “behind the scenes” looks, pictures that don’t look posed, and higher ups in “regular people” situations. Appearing too sleek can backfire. It’s important to show customers that there are faces behind the logo.

Be Accessible: The best way to reach out as a truly authentic brand is to be accessible to everyone. Provide 24/7 customer support. Answer all queries customers or interested parties submit. Create as many avenues as possible for customers to get in touch with the company, such as email, phone, or live chat. Accessibility is the key to reaching out.

Think seriously about the above strategies when giving your brand a more genuine makeover. You can find more information about how our consultants can help with your marketing strategy at CBS-CBS.com.