“I don’t think there’s any such thing as authenticity.”
In an interview published Aug 29, 2016 by Nordic Business Forum, Seth Godin muses about what it means to be authentic. In his opinion, the only time in our human lives that we are authentic is when we are infants. As grown-ups we are, essentially, always putting on a show according to how we wish to be viewed.
Therefore, he suggests that we “redefine authentic to mean consistent.”
This is an intriguing concept as it relates to marketing. I certainly believe that most of us endeavor to be authentic—to remain who we really are in the face of all this world throws at us. However, perhaps that the best that we, as professionals, can hope to achieve IS this consistency of which Godin speaks. In other words, the authenticity is in the consistency. A client never has to be concerned about who you are, as a brand, if you maintain one ever-present face. That is your key to success—to grow a base of clients who know they can rely on you.
Interview here: