Your company needs to be authentic

I read an interesting article on Techcrunch this morning, regarding the success of companies and start-ups. The main statement is that successful companies are genuinely authentic in the way they present themselves.

If is important to understand that if you are trying to be something that you are not, your customers will see that very quickly and this might very well backfire on you.

Stay authentic

Some valuations and buyouts are pretty steep at the moment and most valuations are based upon someone’s visionary view of what the future of a certain industry will look like. Investors are buying into ideas more than ever before, and if you want to live up to your promises, you will need to stay as close to your own beliefs as possible.

Determine and live your values. Most companies throw a list of platitudes in their HR manual and never speak of them again. But defining your values requires deep introspection.

By “brand,” I mean what does a (potential) customer think of when they think of your company? Every interaction that person has with your company (marketing, product, support, sales, their friend’s opinion of you …) influences this.

You need to understand what makes you to who you are and what the values are that you would like to live by. As a leader within your organisation, you need to exude these values and live by them yourself – setting an example for each and every individual within the organisation. They too will start to live by these values if you remain authentic and believe in yourself.

Read the full article here: The One Thing Every Great Company Has In Common