Is Your Marketing Authentic?

We talk a lot about customer experience at CH Consulting Group, from how to design CX strategy and measure CX improvements, to integrating CX into business culture and more. At its core, the goal of customer experience is cultivating loyal customers (did you know it is 6-7X more expensive for companies to attract new customers than to keep existing customers?). If your only goal, however, is to make a profit, you can buy Google AdWords and stop reading here. For businesses who want to be among the 35 percent that make it past their 10-year anniversaries, then read on to understand how authentic marketing can help your brand gain a loyal following.

What is Authentic Marketing?
The goal of traditional marketing tactics such as infomercials, banner ads, email blasts, etc. is to produce sales, but are generally not very effective at getting noticed and being remembered. And with more than 35% of internet users now blocking ads on their desktops, marketers are increasingly relying on other tactics such as content marketing, whose purpose is to provide value through information.

By comparison, authentic marketing begins not with strategy and tactics, but with a philosophy or belief. In other words, what does your company believe in or stand for? As a reflection of a company’s personality, authentic marketing is more likely to be perceived as relatable, personal and unique. It’s rare in comparison to traditional marketing strategies, but it’s much more effective for longevity and impact.

Rooted in the simple idea that ‘truth sells’, authentic marketing has become a powerful tool that has grown in response to a shift in consumer power. In Tell the Truth: Honesty is Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool,  authors Jonathan Salem Baskin and Sue Unerman write, “The reason authenticity is so important today is because people will simply no longer buy from inauthentic brands. The art of spin is becoming more and more redundant.”

In its simplest form, authentic marketing:

• Leads with truth and transparency.
• Removes elements that set the company apart from consumers
• Strives to connect with consumers

Why Authenticity Matters
You know already that consumers are increasingly savvy, which is why marketing has to be authentic if it’s going to be effective and engaging. Because they are connected with so many channels, consumers have a choice as to they want to see, hear, read, like, share, etc., and they won’t hesitate to turn off and tune out anything that feels intrusive, “off,” or irrelevant. What’s more, this connectedness put consumers more in control of the relationships they have with brands. Nothing makes this point more clear than the damage a handful of angry customers can wreak on a brand (certain airlines come to mind).

According to a Goodpurpose study, where quality and price were equal, the leading purchase driver for 53 percent of consumers was ‘social purpose.’ That’s because consumers – all of us – crave the genuine while living in an increasingly virtual world. Consumers today are looking for more than a product or service, they want experience – but not just any experience. It has to be honest and transparent. If it’s not, they will not only recognize it, they will call it out. This is not to say that marketers should adopt an “us vs. them” mentality. In fact, authenticity benefits brands AND those they serve in many ways. Authenticity:

• Differentiates you from your competition
• Builds identity and image and gives substance to your products and/or services
• Makes your business more relatable
• Encourages engagement in order to drive customer loyalty and turn consumers into advocates

Now that you know what authentic marketing is and the important role it plays in customer experience, the first step is to begin by understanding your customers and what drive them. Thankfully, we have a wealth of data at our fingertips that can provide invaluable insights to this end. Secondly, let your customers lead the conversation so that their voices are heard above yours. This is counterintuitive to traditional marketing strategy, but by doing this, you will engage other like-minded consumers. Finally, listen, watch and learn from your customers in order to form genuine relationships. The companies who can do this, will be the one who not only last, but succeed far into the future.

At CHCG, we help companies improve customer experience through a variety of ways, from customer journey mapping to employee engagement. If you’re interested in learning more, contact us today.