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Every business begins with an idea. But do you know if it will resonate with an audience enough to sell? After all, a company can't thrive without adequate income to fuel its existence and growth.

With this in mind, I often find myself wondering whether authenticity as a concept is just another fad. What does building an authentic brand mean? How can entrepreneurs distinguish between being truly genuine in their business strategies versus creating an illusion for illusion's sake?

For instance, Pepsi got it wrong by trying to make a statement about social justice movements in one of its ads. Wells Fargo's internal sales practices and org culture eroded its image as a trusted, authentic brand when these practices came to light. Nonetheless, some businesses get it right from the start and make authenticity the center of ongoing branding strategies. Let's take a closer look at a few examples.

At the heart of every successful business is a solution to a problem. But within those challenges are individual nuances that specific audiences share. Consider hunger. While food is the obvious solution, the way different audiences address it ultimately comes down to their specific goals.

For instance, if you are a vegetarian who prefers organic food, your objective is to achieve balanced nutrition while maintaining a meatless, non-GMO lifestyle. Your solution is going to look quite different from a carnivore with a bent toward whatever tastes good.

Building an authentic brand starts with a deep understanding of an audience's problem, and this knowledge can stem from your personal experience. Daniel Haarburger, founder of Woof, built a brand based on recognizing his one-year-old dog's need for post-surgery support. What started as a unique part-toy, part-treat invention launched a solution for an audience with similar challenges.

The brand's focus on making life easier for dogs and the humans who make them a member of their families stems from a genuine, firsthand understanding. The solution wasn't an attempt to align with a trend or copy someone else's success -- it was born from a desire to solve a problem that hadn't been catered to before.

Brands that come across as disingenuous are usually all over the place. Its identity is blurred, at best, and its messaging seems to say whatever is popular at the moment. The company's actions might also not match what those messages promise.

Authenticity, on the other hand, shines through when customers experience consistency. Everything a brand does should be rooted in its core purpose. This is true whether it's adding a new product line, expanding distribution channels or launching with a single solution.

Kemo Sabe is an example of a company founded on the idea of making everyone feel important. The business makes customized Western gear and has an established retail footprint in select markets, including Colorado and Montana. While it began by distressing hats, the brand stayed true to its roots and its cohesive customer experience when it expanded to boots after new ownership took over.

Kemo Sabe designs and manufactures the boots in Texas, extending the same personalized, one-of-a-kind quality customers have come to identify with the brand. It is this commitment to consistency that ensures consumers don't feel misled or confused about what a business can deliver.

Trust in the Wells Fargo brand eroded because its actions didn't align with what it was saying. By opening up fake accounts without customer permission or knowledge, the company's behaviors stood in stark contrast to ads promoting honesty and financial security. This caused people to wonder if they should transfer their money to a different bank. After all, if a company can't be trusted with your personal information and assets, why bother?

Think about when someone you know doesn't follow through with what they say. It could be your boss promising a promotion after you meet every requirement, only to make excuses three months later for why your title hasn't changed. This serious misalignment causes you to question the person's integrity.

Brands that align their actions with their messages do the opposite. Integrity and trust naturally follow because people don't have to worry about being caught off-guard or duped. Ben & Jerry's is a great example; its identity is built on advocating for social justice issues, including socioeconomic inequities.

Ben & Jerry's matches what it says with what it does. The company sells vegan varieties of its popular flavors and creates new and limited-edition flavors to increase awareness of social justice issues. As a brand, it also focuses on supplier diversity and sourcing ingredients from farms with animal welfare in mind. Being B Corp certified means it must meet specific environmental, social, and economic requirements, which is why credibility is never a question.

Coming from a place of authenticity doesn't mean you have to compromise sales. In fact, not every consumer is going to like a brand, but that's the point of being genuine. Your brand attracts consumers who align with its purpose.

When there's an alignment in values, passionate loyalty may follow, as customers feel a genuine connection to your company's purpose. This level of trust and emotional investment goes beyond a simple transaction and fosters a lasting relationship. Your brand's unique value proposition will be in what it can do and what it stands for. This will allow it to identify and solve problems that other companies might not have even thought of.