Tuesday, March 14, 2006

What's Important to your customers?

Seth Godin's post today (click here to read it) got me thinking.... His premise is that there is a "life cycle" of authenticity. Some things are "more authentic" than others, such as Starbucks vs. Dunkin Donuts. Click the link below to see his graph example.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/images/authentic.jpg

The real question though is ... what is important to your customers?

Some may value authenticity while others value consistency. (Not that the two should be mutually exclusive ... as the best companies often show us.)

Some customers value modern, cutting-edge art while others like the classics. Different things for different people.

No news there.

The key point to remember is that authenticity can make your brand STRONGER and it is usually better to have it than not. Even if "consistency is your thing", you should strive to keep it authentic! If you don't then your brand starts to dissipate and lose its cohesiveness and eventually its meaning.

What do you think? Am I nuts? Leave me a comment !

Dave Wheeler

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