It has always been essential for me to be authentic in my interactions, big or small. I actively avoid places and situations where I feel I can’t be authentically myself. That’s less about saying things that sound good, and more about meaning what I say and following through on the promises I make. A phrase that we’ve all heard growing up is “actions speak louder than words.” It’s a phrase that took me well into adulthood to fully understand.
I have found whether it’s a person, company, or brand, you can best determine what their true intent is by the actions they make. One of the first questions I ask my clients when I’m consulting on websites or media production is “What is your goal for this project?” It’s important for me to fully understand the destination of the project before we even begin production. To some people that question may seem arbitrary, but for me it dictates the advice and strategy that I develop for their project. For example, if I am building a website and the goal is to drive traffic from the website to a show/podcast, then I am going to put links and information at the top of the page along with multiple other places on the website. On the contrary, if my goal is to have people stay on my site for as long as possible, I would avoid placing external links front and center and instead put the most entertaining content towards the top to draw the user in.
Pastor Michael Todd, speaking on relationships said “Trust is lost in buckets and it is earned back in drops.” I believe that quote applies to relationships with brands and companies as much as it does to people. That’s why it’s so important as a company to mean what you say and to make sure your action follows those words. There are some bonds that can’t be rebuilt once broken and others that can, but are incredibly hard to repair. I strongly encourage anyone running a business or brand to make sure your messaging matches your actions, products, etc. because customer trust is everything, and more often than not people know when they’re actions and messages aren’t aligned. That is why it’s so important to understand your why at the beginning so that you can message it accordingly.
Actions speak louder than words. What are your actions saying?