Having an authentic, transparent, or customer-centric brand voice means more than saying you’re authentic, transparent, and customer-centric. All that may be true for your company, but nearly everyone says it and it’s forgettable. So forget it.
In the words of the creative director and author Dave Trott, “Don’t tell me you’re a comedian, make me laugh.”
An honest brand does the right thing, day after day. Delivering on promises, not screwing people over — table stakes humanity. But how do you communicate that?
Authentic is LEGO’s sustainability report admitting they consume too much water and need to make their bricks from cleaner materials, then sharing their plan to improve.
Transparent is Basecamp’s no-translator-required privacy policy explaining in plain English what they will and won’t do with your personal information.
Customer-centric is Zappos’ call center, ditching the worst form of business writing — the customer service script — and instead riding bareback with empathy and common sense.
It’s Polyface Farm inviting you to see every inch of their property, including the slaughterhouse.
It’s Ryanair and Oatly embracing that they’re not for everyone, and turning tough customer feedback into advertising.
And it’s sharing stories about the people behind your product and how you improve lives.
Chances are you are doing something worth bragging about and that proves you walk the talk. Hit me up if you need help putting it out there for the world to love.