1. Keep your promises.
When traveling for work, I fly exclusively Southwest Airlines. They are consistently on time (or early), have the best fares (usually) and they don’t charge a bunch of extra fees for luggage. Do they have first-class seating, special meals, assigned seating, airport lounges, etc.? Nope. But those things don’t matter to me. And as long as they deliver on those promises, I’ll be a loyal customer. What do you stand for? What are the hallmarks of your business? Are you the “best quality” or the “fastest”? Do you have “clean facilities” and “friendly service?” Whatever you say you offer in your ads, emails and articles, the best way to preserve your authenticity is to deliver on said offer. Every. Single. Time.
2. Be transparent.
Nobody’s perfect. Don’t try to hide your flaws or imperfections. We relate better to those with whom we share common experiences with, good, bad, whatever. (This is also effective in team leadership, by the way.) It takes courage to be honest and open with others. One-star review on Yelp? Customer complaints on Facebook? Respond publicly. Take ownership that you messed that up. Don’t let the unhappy customer have the last word. If they were wrong, point that out, too. (The customer isn’t “always” right. Sometimes, they are just plain jackasses.) When other customers and potential customers can see a) that you respond and b) how you respond, they are simply more likely to be open to you as a potential solution to their problem.
3. Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
Be respectful of people’s time, their personal information, their hard-earned money. Why is this so hard? Could it be because you’re too distracted with administrative and operational things and haven’t empowered your team or even hired a team to focus on your brand experience—on serving your customer with excellence? Perhaps. Could it be that you’re missing the mark because what you think your customer wants isn’t actually what they want? Maybe. At the end of the day, when you figure this out, you’re not only a better business owner and leader, but a better friend, parent, sibling, child, spouse, etc. And the best part is, you don’t have to worry about marketing, because your customers will do it for you.