Yesterday, I received an email from my tax guy. The first thing I noticed was the giant font size and abundant use of all caps.
Read for yourself! And then meet me below the pic! 👇🏻
I love this email. It's 100% him. He's not trying to hide his frustration about answering the same question repeatedly. BUT at the same time, he's not letting that stop him from doing his job.
His clients have come to expect several things from him:
💲 excellent work
📪 frequent/timely communications
💪🏻 tough love and honesty when we are bugging the crap out of him.
We could all learn a lesson or two from my tax guy about authenticity!
Here are three reasons why authenticity matters for your small business.
Trust
As a small business or even a large one, trust is important. This is true for any consumer but it is becoming increasingly evident for adult Gen Z consumers. Some studies have reported Gen Zers willingness to pay a premium for brands they trust. However, companies must overcome the trust hurdle, to begin with.
Only an estimated 42% of Gen Zers indicate that they trust companies. By comparison, an estimated 50% of millennials identify as trusting companies. (Source, insiderintelligence.com). Keep in mind that 7 in 10 Gen Z consumers might be fact-checking what you tell them.
But it's not just Gen Z and Millenials you should concern yourself with. All consumers want to trust a company or brand before spending money on it. And if they stop trusting your message or your product or service, you'll lose a consumer. A whopping 53 percent of customers said they would stop purchasing a brand if they no longer trusted it.
Expectations
Your customers want to know what to expect from companies and brands. That's not to say you can't evolve over time. But your core values should remain the same. Those are the values that brought you those customers, and those are the values that will keep them.
Core values are the fundamental principles that shape your business and guide your business decision-making. And when I mention decision-making, I mean everything from employee hiring, marketing, sales, leadership, and basically every decision your company makes.
If a company does not have a clearly defined set of core values or if they lose sight of those values, then you will lose customers. Or you may have difficulty finding your audience.
Relationships
Authenticity matters because it's integral to relationships.
The more relationships you build with your consumers, the more they will help you do your marketing.
Word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective type of marketing you can have.
Why?
Because 92% of consumers will believe recommendations from family, friends, and even their social media network (personal experience here!) over any other form of advertising.
Think about it. The last time you needed to find a mechanic or a flooring company, or an a/c repair person, how did you find them? Did you ask around? Did you look on Yelp to see what other people had to say?
That's Word of Mouth Marketing.
It's one big reason why authenticity and trust are so important for your success. The happier your clients or customers are, the more they will talk about your company. The more people talk about your company (in a positive way), the more consumers you'll get.
What kind of relationship are you building with your consumers? Is it the kind that will inspire word-of-mouth marketing?
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