Authentic Mar­keting

In it blows on a fresh breeze just when so many of us have grown dis­il­lu­sioned by the hype of con­ven­tional mar­keting advice; that feeling that we “should” be pre­senting our­selves in ways that con­forms to our poten­tial cus­tomers’ expec­ta­tions. Tra­di­tion­ally we are advised to create a subtle mis­rep­re­sen­ta­tion of our busi­ness defined on by what we are told is the norm, the right thing to do in business.

There is a new way of thinking about mar­keting. If you believe in your product, are gen­uinely aligned with what you do, and you present your busi­ness with integrity and dig­nity, your ideal clients will be drawn to you, and they will be far more likely to expe­ri­ence satisfaction.

The first refreshing step is to realize that there are enough clients and cus­tomers out there who want exactly what you are offering, and will take com­fort in knowing that it is being rep­re­sented accurately.

Authen­ticity is pre­cise market place­ment. You are describing your busi­ness so that those who are nat­u­rally attracted to your goods and ser­vices can find you. They will feel as if you are speaking directly to them. Ulti­mately it increases sales because you are speaking to a defined niche.

How do you do this? Begin by thor­oughly defining your busi­ness. How accu­rate are your company’s vision and mis­sion state­ments? Where they written to con­form to busi­ness stan­dards? Or do they define the dri­ving force behind your busi­ness? Are your pas­sions pal­pable? Let them come through. When you read your writing do you feel an excited energy? Cus­tomers sense that energy and ride on it. This cannot be manufactured.

When you begin to present your work from this foun­da­tion, you will attract people who are more likely to con­nect with you, like you, and trust you. They will also be cus­tomers who you enjoy working with because they are aligned with your passion.

Using lan­guage that is pow­erful and direct inspires people who share your values. Cap­ture what is real about your product or ser­vice. Without hes­i­ta­tion, tell the world proudly what you have to offer.

Mar­keting is about rela­tion­ship building. When we come from a place of authen­ticity, when we allow our per­son­al­i­ties to come out in our busi­nesses, our con­nec­tions are more gen­uine and have greater ease. We can relax into who we are and cel­e­brate it.