Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want

This book is essential reading for those interested in strategy and the previous works concerning customer experience. Authenticity creates a metric for further work concerning the measurement of customer experience. There are numerous examples of defining your company’s strategy for authenticity and how to carry it from strategy to implementation.

The book is highly theoretical in nature and comes across as somewhat academic (as opposed to a management book), in devoting so much explanation to what it means to be authentic. Examples include “understanding the physical reality: Minkowski space (a physicist’s construct). This makes the book a difficult read at times.

In 1998, Pine and Gilmore identified “experiences” as economic offerings distinct from commodities, products, and services. In so doing, they launched an entire field of consulting in “experiential marketing” and “experience management.” Since then, they have been studying how consumers determine the value of their paid-for experiences. One trait has risen to prominence: authenticity. How authentic is the experience? Is it what they expected? Why or why not? The authors introduce the concept of perceived authenticity, or how a consumer experiences a product, service, environment, communication, or person. Therefore, businesses must understand what it means to “render authenticity” in their consumer offerings and outreach, and they must learn to manage the process of, and excel at, rendering authenticity and behaving authentically. This book is arguably the first to provide some practical business advice and talking points for managers and marketers.

This book provides a theoretical framework for businesses to refine their offerings by “rendering authenticity,” and thereby convincing the consumer that their product or service is authentic. Good examples including Starbucks, Disney and the Geek Squad. It is also full of frameworks for understanding, such as the 10 Elements of Authenticity.