Planning for 2024: Defining Brand Authenticity

Last week, a subscriber reached out to discuss their brand positioning goals for next year. One attribute they mentioned as being a point of focus is brand authenticity. Our conversation was fun and interesting, so I decided to make it the topic of this week’s Insights Access newsletter.

THE SITUATION

88% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they support.

But, 83% of consumers believe brands need to provide more authentic shopping experiences to customers like them.

(Source: Stackla, 2021)

(Source: Stackla, 2022)

THE OPPORTUNITY

As seen in The Situation, brand authenticity is an important decision driver for most consumers – but most consumers feel brands need to be doing more with their authenticity efforts.

As we approach 2024, there is a clear opportunity – and a clear need – to assess how consumers currently view our brands. Are we part of the majority that are falling short of authenticity expectations? If so, what can be done about it? On the other hand, if we’re currently meeting customer expectations and thriving in our authenticity, how can we maintain and build upon those efforts?

Addressing those types of questions heading into the New Year is a must to be relevant and stay relevant. In addition to establishing your brand’s present reality, it will help equip your teams with the data-driven insights and knowledge needed to make strategic decisions with confidence and accuracy. Without that insight and knowledge, we’re operating based on assumptions, hypotheses, and best guesses, which is shaky ground to be standing on.

THE CHALLENGE

As I mentioned at the start, this topic came about during a recent conversation about brand positioning. Within that discussion, a powerful and important question rose to the surface – what does authenticity mean? We’re all familiar with the term, but there is depth and nuance that ought to be explored.

With so many customers saying brands need to do more with their authenticity efforts, I have to imagine there are different definitions and perceptions of “authenticity” among them. So, a key challenge here is fully understanding what authenticity means to our target audiences. By clarifying how customers define brand authenticity, we are better equipped to meet their authenticity expectations.

Furthermore, the matter of defining authenticity isn’t just about looking outward to customers. It’s also about looking inward within our brands. It is easy to talk about authenticity and assume everyone is on the same page. But just like our target audiences, there can be different ideas and definitions of authenticity among our own teams. Without ensuring internal alignment on its definition, purpose, and value, bringing that attribute to life in consistent and cohesive ways will be an ongoing challenge.

THE SOLUTION

I believe that the solution starts internally. Take a deep and detailed look at how your brand currently defines authenticity. Hold internal stakeholder interviews and group discussions to clarify how varying teams and departments view this brand attribute. Explore thoughts and perspectives on your brand’s authenticity strengths and weaknesses. Discuss what is currently being done to strengthen authenticity and hold the door open for new strategic branding ideas. The key here is going beyond surface-level verbiage to get to the heart of the matter. This will not only serve to ensure everyone is on the same page, but it’s also a chance for team members to have their voices heard in meaningful and constructive ways.

Once the internal state of authenticity is established, then it’s time to look outward with a customer feedback study focused on brand perception. How do your target audiences define authenticity? Why is it important to them? What are their thoughts, opinions, and expectations regarding your authenticity efforts? Where do you land on the competitive spectrum in comparison to other brands – both within and outside your industry?

Through an in-depth Brand Perception feedback survey, you’ll move from hypotheses and assumptions to facts and data-driven insights. You will have heard directly from consumers what they think and feel about your brand, and what they expect moving forward. With that, strategic positioning and identity decisions can be made with clarity and confidence. After all, their perception is your reality. So, this phase is vital to overall brand growth and development.

Having conducted both internal and external brand assessments, you’ll know your present reality. Only through this foundational understanding of how things exist today can you effectively and efficiently build into the brand you want to be tomorrow. That’s because to identify and plan the next steps, you need to have a defined starting point. To know where to go, you need to know where you are. Combining an internal assessment with an external Brand Perception survey is a structured and strategic approach to achieving your brand development goals.

MY ADVICE

Strategic goals require a strategic approach, and that is not a one-time effort. So, make internal assessments and customer feedback an ongoing part of your brand development initiatives. The first iteration has tremendous value and sets the stage for the next steps. But it also establishes your performance benchmarks for comparative analyses.

With those benchmarks in place, moving forward you can track and measure progress in data-driven ways. Rather than assuming or hoping for the best, you’re determining with certainty whether your efforts are having the desired impact. Too often I see brands take a one-and-done approach, which leaves a ton of value on the table and misses opportunities to pull additional ROI from those previous investments.

HOW WE CAN HELP

In addition to our 35+ years of experience in leveraging data-driven insights and customer feedback, partnering with an outside market research firm like us offers a fresh and unbiased perspective. Throughout the internal assessment and external survey processes, we are solely focused on delivering accurate and actionable findings. This isn’t to say that your team can’t do the same, but our blend of experience and objectivity offers a level of confidence that may not otherwise exist.

In addition, partnering with us lightens your load to focus on the many other brand development tasks at hand. We are an end-to-end service provider, providing high-level strategic guidance as well as ground-level tactical support. So, you’ll receive the actionable insights you’re looking for without adding more to-do list items to an already full plate.

If you’re interested in learning more about how we can support your brand development efforts, please don’t hesitate to reach out! You can either send me a note directly or contact us here.

YOUR TURN

I’d love to see your comments and thoughts about brand perception and identity building. Will brand authenticity be a significant part of your 2024 identity and positioning initiatives? How are you incorporating customer feedback into your brand development processes? Do you have any tips or recommendations for someone looking to assess and strengthen internal goal alignment?

By sharing your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions, we’ll foster a collaborative community where actionable insights are the foundation and collective success is the outcome.

Do you have a stat, trend, or topic you’d like me to write about? Send me a message or share it in the comments.

I’ll add it to my list of future newsletter topics!