How To Stay Authentic As Your Business Grows
How To Stay Authentic As Your Business Grows. People fall in love with small brands because they have a sort of sixth sense about them. It’s personal. They can feel the authenticity in the company’s grassroots approach, product innovation, and commitment to the community.
As a business grows, there is (almost) no greater challenge than maintaining that authenticity. With mass market success often comes mass-market operations–from sales to marketing to manufacturing. But to Linksfontein Safari Lodge, our business is as personal as it gets, and clients continue to feel that personal connection, even as we have grown.
We attribute our ability to maintain the authenticity of the brand to the importance we place on sticking to our core values: customer service, giving back, and innovation. From the very beginning, these three principals have guided our success. Below shows how Happy has exercised each of these values and how you can use our experiences to create your own, unique core values.
Customer service is our No. 1 priority.
What started as a small, grassroots marketing program where we tapped into the mom-to-mom network, soon grew to 40, then 50, and now over 70 real moms who not only use and adore our products but also who are a resource of health and wellness for other moms in their community. In other industries, customer service may take on other forms, from knowledgeable employees who can answer consumers’ questions to simply sticking to the age-old mantra that the customer is always right. Either way, if you’re starting a business, making customer service a priority will pay off.
Our commitment to giving back has also grown with us.
We started by giving back to the school of Aalwyn Primary to help feed hungry children in our little town of Campbell. Giving back to a cause you genuinely believe in creates authenticity in two ways: first, it shows you care about more than just the success of your business; second, it gives your business a bit of a personality. Both of these things allow people to connect with your brand on more than one level.
And finally, we continue to innovate.
Being as fortunate and able to help the way we can by any means possible. We strive to do more in our community. To never forget where we came from, what formed us and what our future goals are. “Keeping it real” is to be authentic. To be authentic you need to be yourself and proud of who you are.
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