One definition describes trust as a “reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Think about that definition for a moment. Trust means that you can rely on someone (or something) else to do the morally right thing. You believe that you’re able to put your heart on your sleeve, even if it’s a risk, and that they won’t disappoint you.
However, how do organisations create trust? Organisations with great customer relationships are able to grow their business without special promotions or spending a great deal of money. You have to be good at what you do, of course, but having a truly successful business is based on one simple concept: trust.
One recent example of creating trust is ‘The Shed at Dulwich.’ It was known for its amazing reviews, fantastic food and its uniqueness. The only issue was, it didn’t exist. A practical joker decided to turn his garden shed into a restaurant, bought a burner phone and put it on TripAdvisor – voila. It was the in thing. Creating ‘food’ dishes from using household essentials, and creating false advertisements really did work. People reading the reviews really did believe, so much so they were ringing to book reservations – if this doesn’t show how consumers will trust what others say, I don’t know what will.
As Niall FitzGerald, the Former Chairman and CEO of Unilever said in 2001:
“You can have all the facts and figures, all the supporting evidence, all the endorsement that you want, but if at the end of the day you don’t command trust, you won’t get anywhere.”
Here at Emotional Logic we can help you build consumer trust; look out for a write up of our recent experiment results that will be posted later this week. In the meantime, for more information please contact us.
