What if you went to your local C-store and bought that package of Cool Ranch Doritos you’d been thinking about all day? As you open the bag hoping for the long-awaited scent of sweet Cool Ranch, you look down only to discover the package is full of Circus Peanuts. You’d lose trust in the brand immediately, would you not?
Without trust, it isn’t easy to persuade people to act, whether buying a product or service, signing up for a newsletter, or following you on social media.
Trust is built through various factors, including delivering on your promises, being transparent and honest, and showing empathy and understanding toward your audience’s needs and concerns. Establishing trust takes time and effort but is well worth it in the long run.
Studies have shown that consumers are more likely to do business with trustworthy brands. They’re also more likely to recommend those brands to others and become loyal customers. I’m not sure we needed a study to tell us that, but there you go.
So, as marketers, we must prioritize building and maintaining trust with our audiences. This means being authentic and human in our communication (brand voice), providing value through our brand experience (brand style), and delivering high-quality products and services that live up to our promises (brand behavior). Trust is the foundation of any successful marketing strategy. The tradeoff of potentially losing trust against achieving a short-term KPI is never worth it.
Be encouraged. Together, let’s prioritize building trust with our audiences FIRST and watching our businesses thrive as a result, not the other way around.
