Without authenticity, few will invest in and be loyal to your brand. You need to prove to your customers that your business has integrity and is worth their time.

It’s estimated that, by the year 2040, 95 percent of all purchases will be through ecommerce businesses. With so many options already available, there’s no reason consumers must lower their standards or tolerate a brand they don’t relate to. That’s why your business needs to prove it’s authentic.

No one wants to purchase from somewhere that isn’t genuine, honest, or has integrity. If your policies and values don’t match your actions, few will invest in your brand or care about it.

Building brand authenticity doesn’t have to be difficult. With enough hard work and consistency, your business can grow based on its sincere principles and actions. Here are three tips to get started.

Engage your audience

Too many brands neglect the power of social media to build brand authenticity. It isn’t enough to post prescheduled content to your social platforms and then disappear. You aren’t providing value to your audience this way. Instead, you need to make sure you’re engaging them in a conversation.

Neglecting your target market is an easy way to make them feel like they don’t matter to you as anything more but paying customers. According to a recent survey, 84 percent of customers said being treated like a person, not a number, is crucial to winning their business.

Make an effort to respond to your followers’ mentions, comments, and direct messages. Whether they’re coming to you with a product issue or simply to engage in a conversation, you must reach back out. Your email, social media, and website should provide friendly, quick responses to boost brand authenticity and keep visitors happy.

Provide excellent support

What’s worse than a business that doesn’t get back to you or provide you with solutions to your problem? When customers buy from a business, they expect to have support in case they have questions or concerns. It tells them something when a brand uses poor communication practices to conduct business and sends them the other way.

It’s your responsibility to your customers to be reliable and present when they require assistance. In paying for your products and services, they’re also paying for support should they need help with anything. Failing to meet their needs results in a customer lost forever.

Take the extra steps needed to ensure your business is doing everything it can to assist its customers. Add live chat to your website so users have direct access to answers and solutions at any time. You can also humanize your brand by giving it a fun personality and character, also known as a chatbot.

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Use personalization

Having your business online means that anyone has access to its content, products, and services. Your website will attract all types of different visitors which is why it’s important to use personalization to connect with them as individuals. The more you feel like a machine out to get their money, the less authentic you’ll be.

People want to feel a bond with the brands they’re spending money on. If you treat your customers like they’re nothing but revenue, you’ll soon start to see the consequences in reduced sales. There’s so much competition for them to choose from, so if you don’t cater to them, they know another business will.

Spotify got their customers talking with their #2019Wrapped campaign. It collects information on users’ listening habits and then compiles them into a fun infographic so they can see what they listened to the most. This personalized, shareable campaign had everyone talking about their musical interests at the end of the year.

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Stand out from your competitors by going out of your way to personalize the customer experience. Use features like localization, email list segmentation, and artificial intelligence to learn more about your target market so you can use that information to further cater to their needs.

Content is also a great way to connect with your audience and make them feel special to your brand. Producing relevant, interesting, high-quality content will attract users both old and new and entice them to check out your business. Blogging is a great starting point to show readers your industry expertise and teach them something new. On top of that, companies that blog receive 97 percent more referral links to their website, spreading brand awareness and recognition.

Over to you

Many marketers and business owners downplay the importance of having an authentic brand, but this is a must if you’re going to appeal to consumers long-term. Your brand needs to build a genuine connection and follow its principles if it’s going to continue to grow and be successful. How will you build authenticity for your brand?