The Hindu Business Line : Business today is all about being real

The difference is what James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II discuss in Authenticity ( www.tatamcgrawhill.com). They aver that now, more than ever, the authentic is what consumers really want.

“Fake, contrived, disingenuous, phoney, inauthentic. Do your customers use any of these words to describe what you sell or how you sell it?” demand Gilmore and Pine. “People increasingly see the world in terms of real and fake, and want to buy something real from someone genuine, not a fake from some phoney.”

But why should we be talking about what looks like some philosophical and moral stuff? Because we are shifting to ‘the experience economy,’ the authors reason. “Goods and services are no longer enough; what consumers want today are experiences – memorable events that engage them in an inherently personal way.”

And, remember, many experiences are paid-for, with people deciding ‘where and when to spend their money and their time – the currency of experiences – as much if not more than they deliberate on what to buy.’

Brace up, therefore. Business today is all about being real, original, genuine, and sincere. Poor quality is no longer tolerated as junk; consumers trash that as fake! Responding to the new sensitivities, therefore, organisations have to excel at rendering authenticity, exhorts the book. “Indeed, ‘rendering authenticity’ should one day roll off the tongue as easily as ‘controlling costs’ and ‘improving quality.’”

You can be authentic despite having technology around, advise the authors. They suggest, for example, how voice systems can eliminate features that make it tough to reach a real person.

“Follow the GetHuman standard and let people press ‘0’ to get a human being, perhaps making it the first option. Rather than automating human activity, humanise the automated activity.”

Calling your product or service ‘authentic’ may not help; for, such labelling is usually met with disbelief. Instead learn the five genres of perceived authenticity the authors explain in the book.

The first is about commodities, where ‘natural authenticity’ wins. “People tend to perceive as authentic that which exists in its natural state in or of the earth, remaining untouched by human hands; not artificial or synthetic.” Which explains the current popularity of organic foods.

With goods, authenticity is seen in originality of design and innovation, as in the case of Apple’s products. For services, the golden rule is perform ‘exceptionally well… demonstrating human care.’ The authors cite, as examples, Nordstrom or Southwest Airlines, ‘in industries known for treating customers anonymously and often downright poorly.’

Real read that fakers who live in delusive comfort zones would like to unadvisedly keep away from.

D. Murali

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

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Business today is all about being real