Brands are looking over their shoulder these days. With consumer trust on the decline, annual trust rankings and barometers remind companies that they also face a skeptical new generation. Oh, and don’t forget growing expectations to do good.
For brands that want people to trust them, shrugging off those social changes is foolhardy. But can they cut through the noise? Are there any universal principles that help build a solid foundation of trust, leaving a brand less reactive to, say, the whims of Gen Z?
Yes, according to Daryl Travis, founder and CEO of brand research and strategy agency Brandtrust. “Trust is created by making and keeping promises,” says Travis, noting that his Chicago-based firm draws on social and behavioral science. For him, brand trust boils down to three elements. The first is connection: This brand is for people like me. Second is consistency—the customer experience and how the brand is living up to its promises.
Third—and most crucial—is care. “The brand always has the customer’s back,” says Travis, whose client list spans FedEx, General Electric, and Pfizer. “The care is where the emotion and the feeling comes into it,” he adds. “That’s when trust really starts to take root.”
Care helps explain why Band-Aid, Lysol, and Kleenex occupy three of the top five U.S. spots in Morning Consult’s latest Most Trusted Brands ranking. “You trust them because they’re part of your insurance, if you will, in a brand sense, for quality of life,” says Kevin Lane Keller, professor of marketing at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business.
Trust is just one dimension of a brand’s credibility, along with expertise and likability, Keller notes. “Expertise and trust are kind of core,” says the author of the influential Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity. “Are you good at what you do? And do you have my interests in mind?”
Another driver of trust is frequent use. “When you use products a lot, you have a chance to see if they work,” observes Keller, an adviser to marketers for the likes of American Express, Intel, and Nike. By earning trust over time, a brand gains stability.
Apple is a brand trust standout for Travis, who says the tech giant has recovered from many mistakes “because they stick to their higher-order purpose, the democratization of technology.”
Consumers sense that Apple’s elegantly designed products will be easy to use, he explains. “That’s why they have this brand that people are irrationally drawn to, because it feels like I’m going to be better if I engage with that brand.”
But remember: Trust can be fragile. “It just takes one misstep, and then you start to raise doubts in people’s minds,” Keller says.
When people feel that a brand has betrayed their trust, sometimes the reaction is visceral. “The opposite of trust is not distrust, but it’s disgust,” Travis says. “Once you’ve gotten into the disgust level, that’s hard to fix.”
Nick Rockel
IN OTHER NEWS
LockBit gets unlocked
Thanks to an operation led by the FBI and the U.K.’s National Crime Agency, the infamous LockBit ransomware group is on the run. So far, this global cybercrime syndicate’s haul from some 2,000 victims tops $120 million. But after seizing websites and servers allegedly used to extort money, authorities say they have the keys to unlock data encrypted during attacks.
Frequent filers
Is the corporate jet set mixing business with pleasure? The IRS wants to know. The tax agency is launching audits to see if companies fudge deductions for their jets, which number more than 10,000 in the United States. Big corporations and complex partnerships are in the crosshairs for now, but individuals could be next.
Shopping for trust
Trust is top of mind for patrons of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands online, reveals a survey of 3,500 Americans’ digital shopping behaviors. For those purchasing from a brand’s own website or mobile app, trust in the store beat better prices, a wide product selection, and free shipping. At 43%, Gen Z respondents were much more likely than older shoppers to favor brand stores over retailer sites and online marketplaces.
China opens up
China’s new financial regulator aims to restore investors’ trust. With Chinese stocks on the skids and foreign investment waning, the Central Financial Commission (CFC) has pledged more openness and transparency, plus closer ties with global markets. Net foreign direct investment in China hit a 30-year low in 2023, when the nation’s benchmark stock index fell about 11%.
TRUST EXERCISE
“Regional differences in regulation will guide restrictions on where AI can be employed, standards, and what constitutes high-risk applications. Concerns about data quality, security, privacy, and trustworthiness have all threatened to slow the uptake of AI. Alliances and organizations are emerging to help companies self-regulate. Strong data foundations and governance will be critical to prevent vulnerabilities as many companies move to operationalize AI across their enterprises.”
As public skepticism over AI mounts, the CEO of pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi is championing its role in drug discovery and development. Taking full advantage of the technology to create new treatments means overcoming several challenges, Paul Hudson acknowledges in a recent op-ed. Like other industries, pharma must find the right balance between regulating AI itself and allowing government oversight of trust, privacy, and safety.