Product authenticity equates to brand authenticity. Every business owner and brand says they are unique. And every customer rolls their eyes each time they have to listen to that statement. The key is to show your authenticity, not just speak about it. Take a look around the world, which brand do you believe is truly authentic? Large brands like Apple, Sony, Microsoft and Calvin Klein come to mind. Is it their logo? Their CEO? Or the marketing that makes them stand out? No, it's their products. They go out of their way to be different and they’re not afraid to poke fun of their stale competitors. Their products are unmistakably authentic because they do the following things.
Brand values show themselves
Values in consumerism and commerce are such an incredibly hot and interesting topic right now. The consumer is shifting towards high-sustainability, eco-friendly brands. Brands such as Calvin Klein have made a huge shift in their material sourcing and their products show it. They only sell all-cotton jeans, all-cotton boxers and sustainable fashion items. Their products have received rave ratings because they are softer, high-quality, stretchier and don’t sacrifice style.
Their brand values have shown themselves in the very products they make. Just donating to charity from your earnings is not enough, if your earnings harmed the planet and workers in the process. So, start using sustainable materials, go green in your manufacturing, logistics and values.
Mission statement
When a customer opens up their parcel with your product inside it, they should be met with your values straight away. A short mission statement, informing the customer about your brand values, how and why their product is made, and how you are helping the planet/people, should be commonplace. What should your message look like?
Keep it short, most customers will read it but they won’t want a more than 20-30-second read.
Print it on recycled materials and let them know with a mark to show it i.e. ‘recycled cardboard’ or include it in the message itself.
Thank them for helping them be more eco-friendly. This reminds them that just by buying a product from you, like they normally would, they have helped make the planet greener.
Attachments to the product
When a customer gets the product, there should be a few attachments to it that signify that it is an authentic product. Firstly, you should have a tag. Take a look at these printed die cut hang tags which can be attached to your product. The tag can be finished in gloss, matte or laminate. You select the size, color scheme, message, etc. The message could be to show where you source your materials. A bottle of parfum might have a tag that says, ‘zest taken from fruits grown in the tropics of Panama’, or a shampoo could have a tag that says ‘berries picked from vineyards in southern Spain’. Just something like this, takes the customer’s imagination for a ride. They imagine where your ingredients or materials are from and it makes the product feel like it's been made with love, care and pride.
Support your supply chain
Many companies that source their materials from abroad, will also donate back into that supply chain. For example, if you source cotton from Brazil, then you should make it known in your marketing that you pay back into the communities where the cotton grows. This could be to fund the infrastructure, such as building roads, investing in hospitals, helping during a humanitarian crisis, etc.
This should become part of your brand to increase its authenticity. This is because you want to have a long history and great relationship with your supply chain. Some coffee brands brag about how they have been sourcing coffee beans from the same few mountains in Columbia for decades. What this does is link your brand to a specific ingredient and quality, hence your authenticity and uniqueness.
Never copy
It may be tempting at times to copy a rival, since something is working for them and you’re struggling in marketing interaction and sales. But don’t! Apple does not try to copy Samsung; at least not on the big things. They don’t copy the design of Samsung, i.e. Apple keeps its phones more squarish. It does not jump ship to Android for any of its products. It does not stop doing it's famous white Apple products.
This is how your brand and product could become more authentic. Never underestimate the true value of having authenticity, as it will forever help you stand out among a myriad of other similar brands.