1 / 49

The Authenticity Factor™

The Authenticity Factor™. An important emergent phenomenon reshaping green business Integral Partnerships,LLC. The Authenticity Factor ™. Personal Authenticity Concept: Real, genuine, honest, trustworthy, true, natural “What you see is what you get” “Walking your talk”

mallika
Download Presentation

The Authenticity Factor™

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Authenticity Factor™ An important emergent phenomenon reshaping green business Integral Partnerships,LLC

  2. The Authenticity Factor™ Personal Authenticity Concept: • Real, genuine, honest, trustworthy, true, natural • “What you see is what you get” • “Walking your talk” • “True to your own natural self” • Being “real” and self-revealing in relationships • Mutuality and trustworthiness in relationships Inauthenticity Concept: • Fake, hype, pretense, hypocritical, deceptive, hiding, lying, shilling, artificial, false claims, advertising come-ons, exploiting the unwary

  3. Four Levels of Authenticity • Simple Honesty: Telling the truth • Personal Authenticity: Truth-telling + Personally Self-revealing • Social Authenticity: Truth-telling + Transparency + Fair Dealing with Stakeholders + Showing Ecological Processes of an Organization • Systemic Authenticity: System-wide context creates truth-telling + accurate feedback + process transparency + wiser long-term views of whole system

  4. The Growing Demand for Personal Authenticity in America • 1900-1950 - Existentialists: a few 100s • 1950s-1990s - Civil Rights, Women’s, Peace and Humanistic Psychology Movements Popularized “Walking your talk” & “Living an authentic life” from 100,000s to Millions • 1995: 39% of US Adults: 76 Million Adults • 1999: 47% of US Adults: 92 Million Adults Europe is probably stronger than that!

  5. 3 Key Drivers of Authenticity Trends Since the 1960s • Personal Authenticity popularized by Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Movement, Peace Movement, Self-Help & Personal Growth Psychology, Alternative Health Care • Knowledge Economyas a System can’t afford distortion and poor quality feedback. It needs Social and Systemic Authenticity • Planetary Ecology &Triple Bottom Line: Changing cost structure + Survival of planet + Planetary issues. ALL of these are only soluble with Systemic Authenticity

  6. The Authenticity Factor™ 70-75% of Americans distrust Big Business because of its inauthenticity Business Authenticity is Commitment to what’s real, and to the honest truth: • To find out what’s real and true • To act from what’s real and true • To take a public stand for it • To align organizational culture with it

  7. Demand for Business Authenticity is the Demand for Transparency: • Investors burned by business fraud: Dot.coms, Enron, WorldCom, etc., etc. • Customers burned by advertising lying, cheating, come-ons, bad products • Stakeholders burned by corporate lying • Voters burned by politicians lying • Citizens burned by environmental destruction + corporate lying

  8. Authenticity and Transparency Cultural Creatives will judge how good you and your product are by your degree of transparency: • The way you show who you are • Who your employees are • Your sources for materials, products • Sustainable production processes • How you treat your customers • How you treat your stakeholders

  9. Authenticity sets the context for “What’s Real” vs. “What’s Fake” • “What’s real?” is a new, emergent factor in the Western World • Cultural Creatives are the key: • They raise the questions, • They account for the trend • They are the opinion leaders: • Personal • Social

  10. The Cultural Creatives Based on 15 years of research 150,000 (cum.) people surveyed 500 focus groups 60 in-depth, 4-8 hour interviews on life histories

  11. THE CULTURAL CREATIVES50 million in United States = 26% of U.S. Adults80-90 million in European Union= 30-35% of E.U. Adults

  12. THE CULTURAL CREATIVESTotal Disposable Income(After Taxes) = $1.2 TrillionUnited States Population, Year 2000

  13. THE CULTURAL CREATIVES Driving customer force of the LOHAS Industries**Lifestyles of Health and SustainabilityUSLOHAS Sales2005 est $280BWorldwide Sales2005 est $800B

  14. THE CULTURAL CREATIVES US LOHAS Industries in Year 2000: 1. Ecological Lifestyles $81.2B 2. Sustainable Economy 76.5B 3. Alternative Healthcare 30.7B 4. Healthy Lifestyles 27.8B 5. Personal Development 10.6B Total: $226.8B Source: Natural Business Communications

  15. ValueGraphics • Values and Lifestyles Segments from Cultural differences • NOT Psychographics or individual differences • Cultural Creatives: an emerging subculture, with all psychological types: smart/dumb, inward/outer, good/bad, enlightened/regressive. • As distinctive as French Canadians in Quebec

  16. ValueGraphics • A Subculture has different: —Values = “Most important priorities” —Worldview = “How Life works. What’s real. What Life is all about” —Lifestyle = “What to buy. How to live”

  17. The Culture Wars 50 Years Ago 50% MODERNS 50%TRADITIONALS • Secular, materialist • Conservative, pious • The big city • Small town, country • Hip, up to date • Square, out of date • Style & efficiency • Character, reliability • Cary Grant • Jimmy Stewart • Lauren Bacall • June Allyson

  18. There are 3 Subcultures Today • Traditionals 24.5% • Moderns 49.4% Creatives 26.1% • Cultural Total: 100%

  19. Three Preferred Cognitive Styles • Traditionals:Fend off a bad, complex, ill-understood world. Black-and-white, good-and-evil, simple categories. • Moderns:Tightly focused attention on what succeeds. Ignore side effects. No distractions. Linear analysis. • Cultural Creatives:Synthesize, take in from a wide range of sources. See the whole system. Inner experience is valid.

  20. Cultural Creatives’ Values • Ecology, beyond environmentalism • Planetary awareness • Social Responsibility & Concerns • Authenticity • Relationships, Helping others • Personal Growth, Spirituality • Feminism

  21. Demographics Are Almost Useless—Values Go Deeper • CCs a bit more upscale, overall — wide range of income, educ, occup. • Close to national averages on age, race, ethnicity, region • BUT 60% women overall • Core group (opinion leaders) are 67% women, or 2:1 women:men • “Where are all the good men?”

  22. The Cultural Creatives Story It’s about floods of new information world-wide over last 40 years: • Planetary environment/ecology • Health beyond catastrophic medicine • Organic food vs. environmental-poisons • Spiritual traditions from everywhere • Nuclear, infotech, biotech, nanotech - all go from promise to threats

  23. The Cultural Creatives’Story • It’s about women’s values and concerns going public for the first time in recorded history • It’s about the role of the new social movements and consciousness movements in educating the Western world over the past 40 years

  24. Origins: ALL the new social movements of past 40 years • Civil Rights, Social Justice • Peace (1960 to 1990, and Now, again) • Women’s (to Eco-Fem, Fem-Spiritual) • Environmental, becoming Ecology • Planetary: Anti-globalization, Hunger • Personal growth & New spirituality • Alternative Health Care • Organic Food & ‘Natural Everything’

  25. Cultural Creatives’ Lifestyles • They drive the markets for: • Natural and Organic Products / Foods • Alternative / Holistic Health Care • Eco-Travel • Socially Responsible Investments • Education and Workshops • Arts and Culture • Personalization of Home • Psychotherapy and Counseling

  26. Cultural Creatives’ Lifestyles • They’re “Foodies”: • Talk about food a lot, eat out a lot • Innovate, experiment, buy equipment • Enjoy cooking with friends • Buy any and all organic/natural foods • Healthy cuisine, but not self-denial • Try functional foods • Healthy + natural + gourmet + ethnic

  27. Cultural Creatives’ Lifestyles • Media Habits: • Watch Half as Much TV (Don’t waste $$) • Read Twice as Many Books • Listen to MoreRadio • Read More General Market ANDMore Lifestyle Targeted Magazines • Just Now Catching Up on Internet Use • Very Critical of the News Media

  28. Green Market Challenge:The Demand for Authenticity The LOHAS / Green Customer says: “Show me the sources of your materials, and your process and your people, and who you are… …and I’ll judge for myself whether you are a good company to buy from, or to have a relationship with.”

  29. The Green Market Challenge Every green and healthful product must first solve the “what’s in it for me?” problem BEFORE it saves the planet: • Solve a practical life problem for the household and fit into its lifestyle • And also solve a sustainability problem • …and that’s just your basic requirement to play in this market. • It doesn’t buy you any extra market share.

  30. The Green Market Challenge To gain market share you must add extra benefits beyond green: • Better technical performance • Health benefits • Convenience • Style • Prestige • Virtuous Company

  31. The Green Market Challenge To gain market share build up virtue points as a company committed to authenticity: • Be transparent • Be green • Be socially responsible • Be customer friendly • Be employee friendly • Offer excellent service

  32. In Marketing, Authenticity is all about our CLAIMS for products and services, and the personal authenticity of the people • It’s NOT about the products and services themselves — except that they’re not faked on the outside to hide what’s underneath • The claim can simply be “good value for money”

  33. In Marketing, Authenticity is all about our CLAIMS for products and services • When a salesman says, “It’s the real thing,” grab hold of your wallet. • He’s diverting your attention to the object or the service in front of you, and away from his tricky or exaggerated claims. • He’s lying to get your money.

  34. Authenticity Claims in Marketing: WYSIWYG = What you see is what you get: • Not faked: the surface shows what’s below • Made from a good/appropriate substance with good/healthful properties, and no bad side effects • The underlying stuff does the job: materials, processes, parts, are clean-pure-unadulterated, has good properties • Well made: good parts, good design, good manufacture, no defects • Performsas claimed

  35. Authenticity Claims in Marketing Claims about the claim itself: ‘It’s the Truth!’ • Shows Transparency & Evidence: Origins, Sources, production process, quality controls, How you treat your people and customers • Shows Precautionary principle = No Harm • More Evidence = Justify higher cost: It is well-made, in short supply, rare, or one of a kind • Expert Authentication = Origins, processes • Celebrity Endorsement= prestige claim • Customer Testimonials= “I’m satisfied” All Obvious, Evidence-Bearing Truth-Tellers

  36. The Big Green Marketing Problem BAD MESSAGE—WRONG MESSENGER 1 Using Modernist Advertising 2 Using Modernist Direct Marketing • Conventional ad agencies have no clue about the values of your customers —so they’re losing business for you • But most green businesses don’t see any alternatives for building wider visibility! • Solution: Go to small creative agencies

  37. The Big Green Marketing ProblemBAD MESSAGE & WRONG MESSENGER It Looks Fake, So It’s Rejected by Cultural Creatives market • CCs hate adman’s + direct marketer’s … • Cultural assumptions, language, imagery, inauthentic values • Manipulative and coercive tactics • CCs don’t trust it: Been there, done that

  38. The Green Market Challenge: Speak authentically to your customers CCs lead the demand for authenticity in marketing communications: • Every message has to be honest …AND fit their values and cultural assumptions • Modernist messages offend them! • Face to face communications have to be from authentic people

  39. Show who you are Customers will judge both you and your product by your authenticity and transparency • The way you show who you are • Who your employees are • Your sources for materials, products • Sustainable production processes • How you treat your customers • How you treat your stakeholders

  40. Bigger, Harder Inauthenticity Problems of Today: • Digital fakery of images is inherent in the art • Easier to fakesubstances and appearances with new materials • Harder to judge appropriate substitutions of the chemistry in products • Medical advances/dangers areharder to judge • Pollution and health problems are much greater • Destruction of planet is vastly more dangerous • Greenwashing is all too common, hard to detect • Solution: Be the Consumer’s Friend and Educator

  41. The Authenticity Factor™ may disrupt your internal processes • Demand for instant responsiveness to new complaints and problems • Need for very rapid development and market testing of line extensions • Need to involve consumers at all phases of product development process. Get their feedback early

  42. The Authenticity Factor™ may reshape everything you do in customer relations and contacts • Without authenticity, no advertising message will be believed • Authenticity demands: • New marketing behavior to differentiate your brand • New criteria for product development • New sales behavior • New customer service experiences

  43. From Customer Interface to Customer Interaction Field Bring customers into every part of: • Product design & development • Options development (Honda vs GM) • Packaging and channel development • Message development • Breakdowns, complaints, problems • Customer feedback • Product evolution

  44. What’s Inauthentic: Transaction-Based Marketing + Hype (Financiers + Admen want it, NOT customers) • Maximize Profits from Every Transaction! (Fits inauthentic Financiers) • Generate lots of new contacts and transactions! (Fits Ad Agencies, PR firms, Media) • Based on very short-term, cash-flow tactics (Burning your furniture to heat your house)

  45. What’s Inauthentic: Transaction-Based Marketing + Hype Why disliked by customers? • Built-in bias toward: • cheating, • distorting the truth, • short-life products, • no mutual loyalty • They’ve been burned in the past

  46. What’s Authentic: Relationship Marketing (Sales Should Grow Out of the Relationship) • Maximize Profits over the Lifetime of the Relationship! • Maximize Access to New Customers through Good Word of Mouth! • Depends on repeat purchases: consumables, replacements, upgrades, etc. • Depends on cheaper repeat sales: Cost of new sale = 5 times the cost of repeat sale

  47. What’s Authentic: Relationship Marketing (Sales Should Grow Out of the Relationship) • Why preferred by customers? • Good long-term value for money, • Long-life products and services, • Mutuality and Fair Dealing, • Honesty and Trust, • Loyalty to the Relationship All are in everyone’s long-term best interest, so it’s a sustainable pattern

  48. Managing for Authenticity • Declare a “soup to nuts” and “top to bottom” organizational commitment to authenticity. • Align organizational culture and management processes with processes that emphasize internal authenticity

  49. Contact information: Paul H. Ray and Dixon de Leña Founding Partners Integral Partnerships, LLC1630 North Main St,#127Walnut Creek, CA 94596 USA 925-906-5366 or 415-897-2894 ddelena@integralpartnerships.compaul@integralpartnerships.com

More Related