In 2020, brands have a consumer trust problem.
In the last 3 years, consumer trust in big brands has dropped 19%, while trust in corporate America in general has decreased 33%. Trust in the government has dropped 47%, and even trust in our own families has dropped 2%. {Gartner Consumer and Culture Insights}
So how do brands fix the trust problem? The same way people do.
What we’re talking about is a strained relationship between a person and a brand. Trust has been lost. We need to rebuild it the same way you rebuild any relationship.
But how?
Dr. Brene Brown, who researches issues like shame, vulnerability, and trust at the University of Texas, uses the acronym BRAVING to describe the elements of trust in a relationship and how they are built or rebuilt. It provides us a good framework to examine what creates and damages trust in a relationship, whether between people, or brands.
Let’s walk through the 7 elements and see how they apply to the brand/person relationship.
Boundaries – To have a trusting relationship, you need to have clear, mutually understood, and respected boundaries. These build the “rules” of your relationship. In an interpersonal relationship, one person may set a boundary around late-night communication. “Please don’t text me after midnight” for example. For brands, it might be more about excessive or inappropriate communication. If you send your customers an email everyday or offer an upset the day after a subscription, you may be unknowingly crossing boundaries and damaging trust. Instead, be clear about how you’ll communicate and stick to it.
Reliability – The second element of trust is doing what you say you’re going to do, repeatedly. Not just once, but all or most of the time. If you promise your best friend you’ll meet for drinks every Monday after work, and you only show up half the time, you’re proving yourself to be unreliable. As a business, if you promise two-day shipping, and occasionally fail to meet that standard, you’re doing the same. Reliability is built upon meeting an expectation every time, and that builds trust.
Accountability – Nobody is perfect. People make mistakes, and brands slip up. In order to maintain trust even when you mess up, you own it, apologize for it, and make amends. You don’t sweep it under the rug, you don’t minimize it, and you don’t just hope no one notices. In today’s climate of BLM, brands should shine their own light on any potentially problematic policies, practices, or situations instead of waiting to be called out. Own it, apologize for it, make amends.
Vault – In a trusting relationship, we share a lot. You’ve probably told your spouse your most embarrassing moments. If they share about the time you wet your pants on the playground with their coworkers, you’ll think twice next time you share a secret with him or her. In the same way, consumers share all kinds of private data with companies. If you prove yourself to be a safe place to keep that information, we’ll keep giving it to you. If you don’t, we’ll likely be forced to look elsewhere.
Integrity – It’s not always easy to do the right thing. To choose courage over comfort. But to build integrity in the mind of another, you must practice your values, not just profess them. Lying is often easier than being honest. The truth may hurt, be costly, and require time, energy and effort. But showing you’ll choose truth, courage, and the right thing over what might be easy and cost effective, builds integrity and trust in the mind of anyone.
Non-Judgement – Judgement and trust can’t coexist. In a trusting relationship, I can ask for help without being judged. You’ll know when you’re in a trusting relationship because you feel as though you can rely on the other half if you’re temporarily incapable of holding up your end of the bargain. If you’re unable to do housework because of a temporary health issue, you’d expect your spouse to do more than their fair share until you’re healed. That’s trust. If you can’t make your car payments due to a job loss, can you expect assistance? The answer indicates the level of trust.
Generosity – Life is made up of uncertainty. People act in ways you don’t expect. But in a relationship with trust, you make generous assumptions about intent. Even if you can’t tell why someone did something, you assume the best and move forward with generosity. If you’re a brand, look at your return policy. Does it imbue trust and generosity? Or suspicion and parsimony?
In an era of great confusion, where humans have less trust then ever, and are unsure of where to place the little trust they have left, trust may be the most important issue of branding. After all, trust is the essential building block of any relationship