3 Ways To Incorporate Authenticity into Your Brand Identity
Authenticity is a key piece to effective and successful branding. The fact is, the truth sells. People want to buy from businesses and people that they trust. That is why authenticity is so important to incorporate into your branding. We will discuss 3 ways to do this:
Impression is everything
If you don’t look the part no one will take you or your brand seriously. The physical appearance of individuals associated with the brand is a crucial part of gaining authenticity. If you pride yourself on professionalism, your staff should reflect that. Men in shorts and tank tops and women in miniskirts and stilettos is not the greatest impression to put forward. Professionalism does not mean dull and boring. Stores like J. Crew and Zara have tons of hip and trendy professional options for women. As for men a nice tailored suit with a modern lapel is available at any location that sells menswear and you can spice it up with a colored or patterned shirt and stylish shoes.
Are you who you say you are?
What that means is an organization must project brand values constantly. Authenticity stems from consistent behavior and actions, which means living what you believe. The actions and words of organizational members as well as how the company does business as a whole must be in accordance with the organizations values. Failure to do so reveals scruples, in the organizations morality and adherence to vision causing a negative impact on brand authenticity. A recent example is Subway and its use of chemical rubber in its bread (the same material to make yoga mats). As a brand Subway has always claimed to be fresh. By using a non-edible chemical in bread to make it “breadier” is far from fresh. As a result the organizations brand has been tarnished and they are currently trying to restore that brand. But once a good opinion is lost it can often never be regained. Be consistent and be who you say you are.
There is nothing wrong with a little re-evaluation.
Ideas and solutions of the past may not always hold up as time progresses. Organizations may find that their buzz has fizzled out and no one is taking any real notice of the brand. That’s a sign that it is time to re-evaluate and develop a new brand strategy. Refine and update your knowledge, about your industry you may find that there are new innovations out there that would assist in the proliferation of your brand. Authenticity, is not a constant, if you fail to innovate or stay on the cutting edge, or fail to remain relevant your brand becomes archaic ad loses is authenticity. Re-evaluate when necessary, stay fresh and energized don’t allow your brand to fall into the doldrums and lose all of its momentum.
Please contact us for more branding strategies and tips that can skyrocket your business.
By: Alyssa Rao
