In the marketing plan process, the target customer section hones in on who the company is trying to reach with its product or service. Many companies define the target audience based on traditional demographics - gender, age, income, and education. This research helps to narrow down the focus to the most lucrative segment of the market for a company's product or service.

But target customer profiles also include psychographics - the psyche beyond the numbers. For example, a person can be 35 years old but think like they are 50. A family can make $50,000 per year but spend like they make $150,000. Think about men's cologne. The product is clearly designed for men, but the end customer (purchaser) is frequently a woman, buying the product for the man in her life. When crafting a marketing strategy, men's cologne manufacturers consider targeting not only the end-user (probably a man) but also the purchaser (frequently a woman).

One of the best examples of looking beyond traditional demographic data was the introduction of the Ford Mustang. When it first came out in 1964, Ford's Lee Iacocca positioned the Mustang as a sporty, affordable graduation gift for young adults. But what happened in reality was the dad flipped the keys of his station wagon to his kid and drove off in the sporty Mustang, thinking and feeling 25 years younger! Much like the example of men's cologne, Ford marketing executives discovered - after the fact - that their target customer was indeed multi-faceted. When identifying a target customer, companies must search deeper, delve into the customer's psyche and look for the true meaning beyond the numbers.

The combined use of traditional demographics and psychographics is an effective way to construct an authentic profile of a target audience. It also provides direction to product development, communications, advertising, sales, and the rest of the elements of a good marketing plan. Without a clear target customer profile, a company may waste effort and resources developing product and creating communications to reach people outside the profile. Companies must take care not to stray too far from their core target audience in an effort to extend the reach of their brand. A wide focus targets more people, but speaks to no one, and customers of all kinds will question the authenticity of the watered-down message. A company must take great care in defining its true customer base and know when enough is enough when attempting to extend their brand beyond the initial target focus.

On a personal level, the target customer you're trying to reach is the real you - the authentic you. The you at your very core. The you that's left when you strip away the veneer. The you that resonates when you listen to your inner voice. The you that emerges from the pit of your stomach that says, "Hey this just doesn't feel right - this is not the real me. This is not what I want to be."

But how do you find yourself? How do you set out to discover the real you? How do you capture the true essence of your being? An authentic life is best built from the inside out - by taking a personal inventory. To discover our authenticity we need to ask ourselves these courageous questions: What matters most to me? Who do I need to be to give my life more meaning or purpose? You find your authenticity when you carve out a life that is in harmony with what matters most. When you accomplish this, you are well on the road to unmasking yourself and becoming the authentic person you were always meant to be.

AUTHENTICITY IS KEY
Eddie Bauer has long made outdoor-inspired apparel for the casual lifestyle. People familiar with the brand make the distinction between Eddie Bauer and more gear oriented brands like North Face with the quip, "If you can die doing it, it's probably not Eddie Bauer." Though designed for less extreme use than some competitors, the brand built its success by proving itself to be an authentic outdoor apparel brand name with its legitimate link to the outdoor lifestyle. In fact, the company's founder and namesake started an outdoor sporting goods store in Seattle in 1920. An avid outdoorsman, Bauer nearly froze to death while on expedition and the experience inspired him to design a unique goose down quilted jacket, which he later patented.

Years later, the company maintains a link to this outdoor heritage and has usually paid the consequences when it strayed too far from the brand's authentic roots. In the late 1990's, Eddie Bauer de-emphasized the more rugged outdoor roots of the brand and positioned itself against successful casual and office-attire retailers, Banana Republic and J. Crew. As Eddie Bauer's sales slumped, the company realized its mistake and soon retuned to the outdoor-inspired casual apparel consistent with the brand's roots. Clearly, the Eddie Bauer target customer appreciates the authenticity of the brand's casual apparel and noticed right away when the focus was altered.

Good companies also understand the importance of authenticity in product and marketing message when it comes to reaching their target customer. And one company actually names their product after it. Majestic, a licensed supplier of replica jerseys and merchandise to Major league Baseball and the National Basketball Association launched a new product line called the MLB Authentic Collection. The Authentics Collection is a line of apparel identical to what is worn on the field by all 30 Major League Baseball Clubs, including jackets, jerseys, uniforms, batting jerseys, outerwear, turtlenecks, t-shirts, and fleece. For longtime baseball fans that have endured cheap and substandard facsimile caps and jerseys, Majestic's Authentics Collection is a welcome change. Majestic clearly understands the desire of baseball fans to wear the exact same jerseys and hats that their favorite players wear on the field. The fact that they name the collection Authentic is a powerful gesture of this commitment to their customers. The net result is the company's Authentics Collection has achieved record sales and growth.

Be True to Yourself
When you live authentically you're being true to yourself because you're living a life that is aligned and in sync with your purpose. Being authentic means you reflect your value system, your true essence - your core beliefs. When you live an authentic life, there is no need to keep up with the next-door neighbor. There's only the need to stay true to yourself and honor your true essence.

Authenticity is staying connected to the truth of who you are - not what others perceive you to be. When I was about to choose a graduate school, my dad wanted me to be a lawyer. I almost went to law school out of sheer respect for my father. But deep down I knew I could only be a good lawyer - but never a great one. I thought I'd be great arguing my case in front of a jury - but merely okay at doing the nitty-gritty research and paying attention to the details that are required of a great lawyer. I passed on being a lawyer because it just wasn't me.

To discover the real you, you need to be like an archaeologist. You need to dig deep and delve into your own psyche to discover who you are, and importantly who you are not. According to author, Dr. Dwight "Ike" Reighard, in his book Discovering Your North Star, "We experience significant stress pretending to be someone we're not. It's like trying to hold balloons under water. We may be able to wrestle one or two beneath the surface, but sooner or later one pops up… usually with intensity."

SWEET SIMPLICITY
Cocoa-Cola is one of the world's most recognized brand names. But as early as the 1950's, rival Pepsi started to make inroads on the perennial soda beverage king. Pepsi used lower prices and youthful advertising campaigns, but nothing was as effective as the taste issue. In blind tests run by both Pepsi and Coke, consumers consistently preferred the taste of Pepsi basically because Pepsi is much sweeter. At first try, people would get a smoother taste with Pepsi on a sip-by-sip basis. Coke, meanwhile, had never changed its formula in over ninety years of existence. But persistent research made Coke consider the unthinkable: change the taste. They did taste tests and ran focus groups, and the findings seemed to support changing the taste. But in retrospect they asked their customers every question in the book except the only one they really needed to ask: "If we took away Coca-Cola and gave you New Coke, would you accept it?"

Well, the answer can be found in most marketing textbooks. Consumers made it clear - both vocally and in their actions - that they wanted the original formula and seventy-seven days later they brought Classic Coke back. Acknowledging the consumers' power in the marketplace, Coke learned that its customers' love of the classic formula went beyond taste - they clearly loved the authenticity of the brand, as well. And as soon as they tinkered with the formula in an effort to expand the appeal, the core target customers rejected the new product immediately. However, by returning to the simpler, original formula - Coke once again, became "the real thing." Today, Coke capitalizes on the simplicity, heritage, and "classic" nature of its brand. It learned the hard way that less is often more.

Less is More
In order to connect with our authenticity we might also do well to simplify our lives, not make them more complicated. Remember, a sculptor creates a beautiful statue by chipping away at those parts of the marble stone that are not needed. Maybe we should manage less stuff, not more. Create fewer options - not so many that we fail to exercise any of them. It might do us all well to concentrate less on the things we'd like to acquire and more on who we'd like to become.

Shortly after his wife died, comedian and satirist George Carlin wrote eloquently on the concept of enoughness: "We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We have learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to our life, not life to our years."

One of the keys to living a fulfilled life - a life centered on purpose, is realizing when enough is enough. In life as well as business, we once again see that less sometimes is more.

Masking the Real You
Leading toy maker Mattel, tried to put on a "different face" in the early 1980s by entering the highly competitive, low margin, consumer electronics business with hand held games. The company not only lost money but lost its corporate focus by trying to be something it wasn't. When Mattel did an about face and re-focused on selling its highly profitable collection of Barbie dolls, the company once again prospered.

Let's face it: most of us are less than honest when it comes to letting people know who we really are. In fact, some of us wear masks pretending to be somebody we're not. In the Greek and Roman theatre men wore masks to play different roles, including that of a woman. In fact, the word "hypocrite" comes from the Greek word "hypocrites" which means actors, one who plays a role, pretends or wears a mask. Of course, one definition of mask is a device that wholly or partially conceals the face. It is interesting to note that even the word "person" is derived from the Greek word meaning mask or role played by an actor. OK, so where am I taking you with all this? Simple: All of us wear masks at one time or another - pretending to be somebody we're not. Shakespeare said, "God has given you one face and you make yourself another."

When I was a very young man I was once told that I sometimes wore a comical mask to hide my true intensity. Some people wear "tough guy" masks to hide their sensitivity. Others wear a "brave mask" to hide the fact that they are frightened to death. Some people wear the mask of a warrior when in reality they lack the courage to fight for themselves and stand up for what they truly believe. When we mask ourselves we are pretending to be someone we're not. When we wear a mask, we're living a lie - a life of pretense. A life in which the mask you wear hides your true face to the world. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his famous novel Scarlet Letter said, "No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true."

According to author Bill Treasurer, there are benefits in living an authentic life, "The benefit of being our authentic selves is that instead of wasting time pretending to be someone we're not, we have more impassioned energy to get on with the business of living. Living a life of authenticity represents the end to an exhausting game of make believe." What real benefit is there in playing hide and seek? We only waste our energy trying to be somebody we're not.

This "peek-a-boo, I see you" mask thing just doesn't cut it. We need to take off our mask and reveal our authentic self to the outside world. To find our true meaning in life we must do more than put on a good face - we must become who we were meant to be. Using a biblical metaphor, it's not so much "I am who I am" - but rather, "I am the me I'm meant to be." Gene Mage, President of Soaring Oaks Consulting puts it all into perspective: "Tragically, too many people wake up one day, look in the mirror and no longer recognize the person looking back. If you have to give up who you are to get somewhere, perhaps it's not the some place you really want to go." The point is simple: You don't have to give up who you really are to get where you want to go. Being the real you will get you there sooner because the real you is more aligned with your true purpose in life.