Doing business in 2026 - The importance of authenticity
INSIGHT - HELEN BLAKE
Here @Futurecurve we combine business management and psychology techniques in our work. Authenticity in the B2B world is something we regularly write about and closely monitor because it is intrinsically linked to customer value.
I believe authenticity is fundamentally at the heart of how organisations operate and connect with people. Authenticity in business is essentially about alignment—when a company's actions, communications, and values genuinely reflect its true nature and commitments rather than what has been designed to shape external perception.
It is this alignment that customers, as well as employees and partners, want to experience when working with a company. With alignment, trust, loyalty and deep relationships can be built. But without it the gap between external perception and lived experience can undermine and even damage reputations and brands.
In a recent discussion, I was challenged to assess the authenticity of a company. Many of you know how much I love a challenge and, like my potential client, you may be thinking, ‘Our customers don’t evaluate us like this.’ But are you 100% sure about that? We live in a world where buyers are much more informed, undertake deeper research and regard marketing claims with a healthy dose of scepticism.
The gap between stated values and lived behaviours is often where authenticity lives or dies
Don’t misunderstand me, company authenticity is hard to assess from the outside during a B2B sales process. We know B2B relationships are complex and high stakes, making authenticity both more important and harder to verify than in consumer contexts. But you know when potential customers are evaluating the authenticity of your organisation when their actions include:
Requesting to speak with the people who'll actually deliver the service—account managers, technical support, project managers. Checking if the operational team demonstrates the same values presented by the sales and marketing teams - or is there a disconnect? Authentic companies will be comfortable with this; inauthentic ones keep you in the "sales bubble"
Following up on references and asking customers probing questions such as: "When things went wrong, how did they handle it?" "Did their behaviour during contract renewal match their behaviour during the sales process?" Requesting references from customers in year three or four of their working relationship with you, not just the recent wins
Testing responses to difficult scenarios such as a challenging requirement or constraint. What is your ‘go to’ response? Do you overpromise to close the deal, or be honest about limitations? Being authentic will sometimes mean admitting what you can't do or where a competitor might be stronger
Examining the public track record of the business, comparing messaging over the years to assess if core values have remained consistent, or if they have been reinvented at regular intervals? Checking involvement in litigation, regulatory issues, or public controversies—and more importantly, how these have been handled
Analysing transparency around pricing, contracts, and exit terms. Authentic companies don't hide these clauses and pride themselves on being straightforward. Are there punitive or reasonable get-out clauses? What this reveals is a confidence in retaining a customer’s continued business
Evaluating employee satisfaction and turnover levels, especially in client-facing roles. Asking for informal conversations with current or former employees on the basis that companies that treat their people well also tend to treat their customers well too
Seeking evidence of business values in action, not just statements. If prioritising innovation, will financial statements demonstrate sustained investment in R&D? Can statements about developing customer partnerships be backed up by proof of longstanding relationships? Promoting transparency can be evidenced by published information about problems, mistakes, or challenges?
Looking for a straight answer to the question: "How will our relationship change after we sign?"
The reality is that in B2B, authenticity only fully reveals itself over time through the relationship. But taking these steps can significantly reduce a customer’s risk of choosing a company whose external presentation doesn't match their internal reality. The most authentic businesses welcome this scrutiny—they know their strength lies in the relationship, not just winning the initial deal.
Strong internal cultures
Those B2B companies that can maintain authenticity tend to have strong internal cultures where stated values and ‘doing the right thing’ guide decision-making and communications - preserving integrity even when it might be uncomfortable or cost more.
A question I often get asked is, ‘Whose job is it to ensure a company’s actions, communication and values genuinely reflect its true nature, purpose and commitments?’ The easy answer is ‘leadership of the business’ but it’s more complex than that. There are many threats to authenticity, including:
Short-term financial pressures, when companies may compromise on stated values or make decisions that contradict their professed identity e.g. claiming to prioritise sustainability while quietly lobbying against environmental regulations, etc
Growth and scaling can dilute authenticity as organisations lose the personal touch and direct accountability e.g. the founder who genuinely cared about every customer interaction gets replaced by scripted call centres and automated responses
Marketing disconnected from reality, when the brand story being told externally doesn't match the internal culture or actual product experience. This creates a credibility gap that both customers and employees can sense
Imitation rather than differentiation, with companies adopting whatever is popular or on-trend e.g. claiming to be "innovative" or "customer-centric" whether it's true or not.
Leadership teams need to be cognisant to these potential threats to the authenticity of the business. To avoid being caught out: don’t be passive – getting and keeping the business culture you want has to be managed, encourage an environment where employees feel they can ‘call-out’ inauthentic actions for discussion.
Holding a mirror up to the organisation is a key role for a consultant like me because the most rigorous B2B buyers I've worked with treat cultural assessments as seriously as technical capabilities or pricing—because ultimately, you're entering a relationship, not just buying a product.
B2B customers can determine authenticity - it requires more investigative work than simply evaluating marketing materials or initial sales pitches and will become more commonplace.
If you would like to continue this conversation about cultural assessments, then just get in touch helen.blake@futurecurve.com