Friday, February 26, 2010

Q&A: How Should Brands Earn Our Trust?



I've recently asked my LinkedIn colleagues to answer this question and decided to share their insights. Below I'll list the best feedback collected and would appreciate you to choose the Best Answer or Leave Your Own View:

- 1st Answer:

"That's a question which every marketer needs to focus at. Our perception about a particular product and company is significant to make a brand die or achieve success. When a brand fails to provide the key services promised,customer's go next time to someone offering the same service. The magic that can make one trust a brand is its consistency,transparency of services it has promised to provide. It's simple but hard to be followed by present marketers."

2nd Answer:

"Do what you tell/promise. Keep the gap between expectation and experience as minimal as possible and thus meeting your promises constantly."

3rd Answer:

"A person earns my trust. I earn a person's trust. Or a person extends their trust unbidded... in a kind of paying forward... which in turn makes me even more careful about how I receive and honor their gift.

I don't want brands in the middle of something so important... and valuable. I certainly understand why BRANDS want in the middle of all of this. They have a strong financial interest in ensuring that I bond with them. But I don't want them playing that kind of role in my life."

4th Answer:

"Branding can be tricky as there are many factors to consider. However, I would have to say if you can connect with a consumer on an emotional level you'll have a loyal customer. There are many factors that affect branding other than emotion. These are:

1. Being able to connect at an emotional level
2. Offering Quality
3. Trust/Honesty
4. Great customer support
5. Ease of doing business
6. Competitive pricing
7. Packaging
8. Understanding your customer base (demographics, listening and crafting the right message)
9. Being consistently in the consumers face
9. And then there is the Advertising"

5th Answer:

"Very simply - Consistent Quality and Consistent Value."

6th Answer:

"There is nothing worse falling in love with a brand (wine for example) and all of a sudden seeing the price go up and the quality go down. I would rather pay a higher price for a brand that is consistent every time. But if you raise your shelf price and the quality drops, I won't be a repeat customer."


7th Answer:

"Substitute "people" for "brands" and the answer becomes self-evident."

8th Answer:

"1. Quality
2. Consistency
3. Service & Support
4. Metamorphosis
5. Style "

9th Answer:

"I also agree that it's important to develop consistency, trust and quality. In addition, brands need to give their customers reasons to believe in them. This can be done in a few different ways:

1. Guarantees. While it may be obvious, those ironclad guarantees give people the confidence that if a product/service is not right for them, they can get their money back.

2. Demonstrations. It's pretty safe to say that few people truly trust advertisements, so what better way to develop trust in a product than showing it in action? Show off the quality of your product/service by giving live demonstrations in areas where your customers frequently visit.

3. Customer Relativity. People like to see others that relate to them use a product/service. If people like them use a product/service, then a customer may have more incentive to purchase it. This comes in the form of testimonials, case studies, etc.

4. Spell It Out. If customers can't figure out why they should use your product or service, why would they want to buy it? Providing customers logical, easy-to-understand explanations as to why they should buy your product/service will help them realize why they should get it for themselves.

5. Company History. Company's that have been around for a long time are usually a testament of their business practices and how they treat customers. Also, if you have received any awards, they should let their customer's know about those as well."


Waiting for your decisions of the Best Answer on this question


Yours,

Digital Lunch Team
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5 comments:

Dan said...

Hi,

I'd go for nr. 7th as the best answer. Makes total sense to me.
Good question!

Dan

Anonymous said...

My choice - 5th (our best advice at any time for our clients is to - keep their brands consistent!)
P.S. It does help!

Mina, Germany

Adina said...

Nr.9 - definitely (well-explained, fair approach). Thanx for the great post!

Adina, Canada

G.R. said...

4th - it mentions customer service and puts the importance of advertising - last thing in the raw! I'd choose - 4th.

Compliments from Berlin

Nadya on March 7, 2010 at 3:33 PM said...

Thank you everyone for your votes. I guess you'd agree if we don't choose the best answer at this point - we know what should be the best answer for each of us, since we're all customers and our expectations vary.

Looking forward to hearing more gutsy ideas,
Yours,

Digital Lunch

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