All and all, do you think that your messaging platform is genuine and authentic or does it lean towards being too formula driven and scripted like a retro RPG-style video game?
"Bigger", "Better", "Greatest", "Fastest" are promises that are best left for your customers to decide. Instead, focus brand messaging around value and keep the emphasis of that value in the context of the consumer. Authentic brands don't achieve their success because of the intrinsic value of the products or services, but rather the value of the solutions they provide and the impact they convey.
Until you can let go of who you think you are, you can't hear who your customers think you are. Surveys and interactive web content can provide a host of valuable feedback to provide insight into how your customers perceive your brand and can serve as a foundation for authentic communication.
Marketers can feel the pull of the politics of messaging — a formula driven approach to diversity and correctness in terms of what we say and and how we visually represent it. Ultimately, any procedural approach is watermarked by pattern, however subconsciously, and can feel too robotic or too correct to be authentic. There is no way to be genuine that is not truly genuine. Identifying passion within your brand and speaking to that end creates connections. Being accurate about narrative is much more important than trying to create universal appeal where there isn't.
Many modern marketers and bloggers promote the idea of over delivering. Alleging, that your customers will be 'delighted' when they expected a two hour call back time and, in reality, only had to wait a single hour. How can any marketing communications platform be received as genuine or authentic if it is based on a lie? If your longest customer wait time is one hour, claiming it's twice that so that you look better doesn't seem to make sense in the same way that a constant 75% off sale makes you look over-priced to begin with. Authenticity starts with truthful promises of who you are and what you can deliver followed by consistent delivery at each interaction.
Everyday interactions are the bricks and mortar of brand loyalty. Consistency and hard work built the seven wonders of the ancient world and can in hindsight be viewed as the foundation for authentic brand relationships with your clients or consumers.
Partnering within your organization or with vendors who understand your vision as a marketer can help provide the bandwidth to meet the challenges of your organizations marketing communications platform. This can be a key differentiator to success.
Novocent helps you connect with customers by creating the building blocks of communication. We work to articulate the intangibles that differentiate your organization and can transform that messaging into actionable projects like:
Are we a ‘good fit’ for your team? Toss us a small project and let’s find out.
