Branding30 Mar 2021Kirrily Druery

Five ways to improve your brand authenticity

Authenticity is one of those words a brand cannot claim for itself. It is awarded by customers, based on whether what they experience matches what they were told, and it is the difference between a customer who buys once and one who stays. The five practices below are about closing that gap.

Image credit: https://leddepot.store/

In short

Brand authenticity is the match between what a brand says and what customers experience. It cannot be asserted in messaging, only demonstrated, and it is what keeps existing customers, not what wins new ones.

Key takeaways

It is primarily a retention advantage. Existing customers are where the value sits, and they are the ones positioned to notice a gap.
Being authentic does not mean being informal. It means being consistent and recognisable as yourself.
Authenticity has to be visible in behaviour and operations, not only in tone of voice.

Why brand authenticity matters

Brand Authenticity enables you to attract the right customers to your business, creating not only a better experience for them but also a better bottom line for you.

Did you know that existing customers spend over 30% more than new customers when they buy from you? And according to Invescpro.com increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by as much as 95%!

These figures show how important your current customers are and why you should look after them. But how do we attract and keep these loyal customers in the first place? As well as the product or service you offer, branding is what allows you to attract your ideal customers. One of the most important parts of branding in this sense is your brand authenticity.

What does it mean to be authentic? Well in the Cambridge Dictionary it is defined as the quality of being real or true. For your brand to be considered authentic, it needs to be perceived as reliable, respectful and real. Building brand authenticity must come from within and needs to permeate every aspect of a company.

If your brand can get this right, your customers can be inspired by you, feel connected to your brand and become invested in your success.

So how do we create an authentic brand? Here’s 5 ways to improve your brand authenticity:

1. Know yourself - know who your brand is and what it stands for. What are your values and what is the purpose behind the brand? Ensure they are genuine, and you are delivering on them daily and not just ideals you think customers want you to have.

2. Share the passion - you must let your customers know what those values are and why they are important to you. One of the best ways to do this is through stories. It’s much easier to communicate your brand personality and values through story telling. It can create a more human side to your brand which allows customers to relate to you in an emotional way.

3. Engage with customers - loyal customers rarely stay with a company for its products alone. Great customer experiences are important too. If you build a personal relationship with customers, they will not only feel comfortable doing business with you they can become your greatest brand advocates.

4. Be transparent – honesty is key if you want to be believable. Even if you make a mistake, own it. Customers value the honesty over a sense of perfection from the brands they love.

5. Walk the talk – an authentic brand doesn’t just have values or beliefs that are in a pretty poster on their office wall or in their socials. They live and breathe them every day. Customers want to see how you are bringing those to life throughout your business. For example if you say you value recycling and the environment then share what sustainability practices you are putting into place in your workplace. You may demonstrate how you choose digital communication over paper, support organisations that promote environmentally positive practices, or commit to being a paperless office. Even if your goals are quite lofty and require your brand time to transform, customers still want to see how you are working to get there. Even better, take them on the journey with you!

Just as people expect brands to treat them like humans and not merely as transactions, they also expect brands to act more human. This means they expect the brands with whom they interact to embody human qualities.

Frequently asked questions

What is brand authenticity?

Brand authenticity is the degree to which what a brand says about itself matches what customers encounter. It is assessed by the customer, over time, from behaviour and not from messaging.

Why does brand authenticity matter?

Because it decides whether customers stay. Existing customers spend more than new ones, and they are the people best placed to notice when a brand does not do what it said.

How do you improve brand authenticity?

Be consistent across every touchpoint, only make promises the business can keep, let real people and real work show, and fix the gaps between the brand story and the operational reality instead of restating the story.

Can a brand be authentic and aspirational at the same time?

Yes, as long as the aspiration is honest about being one. A brand can state where it is heading provided it does not describe that destination as though it has already arrived.

Related reading: brand strategy, brand personality and aspirational branding.

Article by Kirrily Druery

Kirrily Druery is a Director and star of all things People, Process and Numbers at Belong Creative. At Belong Creative Kirrily is always looking for ways to make our working life easier so we can focus on doing more of the things we love. Come the weekend, any chance she gets Kirrily is away in her caravan, loving the good life in the great outdoors and lives by the motto "the more the merrier"!

Other Insights

Branding

5 Dec

What is Art Direction? It's a bit like McDonald's actually ...

What is Art Direction you ask? Here’s an analogy that will explain the role which Art Direction plays in the realm of advertising and communications (plus it will probably make you hungry at the same time).