How to Stand Out? Try Authenticity

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Umpqua Bank

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Nine months into the first year, the new store had a record $50 million in deposits. Since then, Umpqua has rolled out stores based on this template in other cities in Oregon, and created a smaller version for smaller neighborhoods.

Starbucks Recovers from Disaster

Customers will forgive brands with which they feel an authentic bond. Starbucks (SBUX) is the story du jour of a company whose strategy went from grassroots to gimmicky somewhere between the original handful of stores in 1982 and the more than 15,000 in 43 countries today. By its own admission, the company lost sight of who it was and what their customers wanted.

However, CEO 's process of recovery from this potential brand disaster is what makes this story so compelling. Schultz chose the path of integrity: He publicly admitted Starbucks' role in its own decline and invited others to participate in the company's recovery. Transparency is a requirement for companies striving for authenticity. And, from his public admissions all the way to the launch of the social networking site mystarbucksidea.com—which invites customers to submit store improvement ideas—Schultz has embraced this concept in spades.

Now, instead of the media focusing on the dilution of the brand, the press and the blogosphere report on how Starbucks rediscovered its DNA. While the future remains to be seen, my bet is on it recovering gracefully.

The Art of the Authentic Relationship

The women's clothing store Anthropologie is another modern, authentic success story—with a twist. Anthropologie's retail environment is an artful rendition of a French market that creates a mood of discovery and whimsy. While the merchandise is a unique mix of found objects from around the globe, the store is as close to a genuine French flea market as is the French bread sold at Safeway (SWY). However, customers have been known to spend over an hour in a store and close to $80 a visit.

Anthropologie has made an art of the authentic relationship. The company's customer is not a roughly sketched demographic. Nor does it expect to sell to everyone with a one-size-fits-all approach. Anthropologie has dug deep into the subtleties and nuances of the psychographic profile of a specific type of thirtysomething married woman. Anthropologie outlets are an extension of her adventurous, bohemian-chic self that doesn't get much play when she's juggling a career and kids. Connections like these accounted for growth of 18% in the fourth quarter of 2007 in an overall disappointing quarter for the women's apparel sector. Not bad for a company that doesn't advertise.

Let Your Customers Be Themselves

This is what it means to forge an authentic relationship with your customers. It's not the kind of relationship that lasts for only one season or that comes on suddenly because your product is cheaper or more beautiful than another's. It's the kind of relationship that emerges because you offer something that caters to an essential desire and makes your customers feel they can be themselves. It's the kind of relationship that allows for mistakes and creates a bond of loyalty. And having established an authentic bond doesn't mean you can rest on your laurels. People change, trends change, and you must always be willing to reinvent yourself as both your company and your customers evolve.

If you follow this approach, your true tribe will love and reward you for it, then spread the word on Yelp.com, Epinions, Twitter, Digg, Amazon.com (AMZN), and so on. It is hard work. It takes courage and a willingness to give up trying to be everything to everybody. But in this day and age, your tribe demands it—and your business depends on it.

Sohrab Vossoughi is Founder and President of ZIBA Design, the company he started in 1984. The recipient of more than 30 patents and over 200 design awards, Vossoughi was named BusinessWeek's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992. He continues to direct projects for clients including Nike, Microsoft, Xerox and Hewlett-Packard.

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