Marketing
Building Trust As Assets: A Guide For Marketers And Business Owners
By Kehinde Ruth Onasoga
Trust is the cornerstone of any successful business. Whether it’ s a multinational corporation, a micro-, small, and medium business( MSME) or a government agency, how much consumers, employees, and stakeholders trust a brand directly affects its success.
In this article, we will explore how trust can be quantified, how it impacts longterm growth, and why measuring trust should be a core component of any strategic plan.
A few years ago, I was hired by an organization to help with the brand’ s churn rate as a result of its dwindling perception. This organization had been in operation for almost three decades, but over time, internal issues began eroding its structure, which became visible to the public. This resulted in the business losing a significant portion of its market share. It was a devastating blow.
What if the credibility and trust factors of the brand had been measured much like a lead generation campaign or a risk assessment before a transaction is consummated?
This approach could have helped the business retain its market share and attract more business.
The public sector is no different. A lack of trust in any institution affects and impacts the credibility of its brand, which ultimately erodes its culture and investment. No one conducts long-term dealings with an institution they cannot trust.
So, how can companies and government institutions measure the financial benefits of cultivating and maintaining brand trust? Let’ s explore this further.
The Price of Distrust
The consequences of lacking trust in any brand- whether public or private- can be catastrophic. Humans demand honesty, especially when they are invested in a business or a nation. With just a click, a perception built over years can come crumbling down in seconds. Bad news travels very fast
Maintaining brand trust brings several key benefits:
• Loyalty and Advocacy: Satisfied customers or employees become
How is your organization building and measuring trust? Start small- set up trust surveys, track customer retention, and evaluate how trust impacts your pricing strategy. Measuring trust isn’ t just an investment in your brand- it’ s an investment in your future.
your biggest advocates, essentially marketing for you at no additional cost.
• Brands that maintain trust recover quickly from mistakes.
• Price Increases with Little Backlash For instance, at PANDORA, we’ ve successfully implemented price increases with minimal resistance, thanks to our loyal customer base.
But how do you justify spending money on trust-building activities?
Four Key Metrics for Measuring Trust
Measuring trust isn’ t just about feeling good- it’ s about assessing real, quantifiable outcomes. Here are some key areas to track when measuring trust within your organization:
Employee Retention: People stay longer in organizations they trust. When the same feedback is shared by all, there’ s a certain level of credibility it brings. High employee retention rates indicate trust within the organization. In one of our efforts with a previous client, we ensured that internal stakeholders were the first to know about brand changes. By collaborating with the HR department and redefining the company’ s core values based on what the brand could deliver, we rebuilt trust and achieved a 50 % reduction in employee turnover. This also saved significant recruitment and training costs.
Price Sensitivity: In an economy with constant fluctuations, businesses often need to revise their pricing. I personally patronize a brand that increased its prices up to four times last year. Despite the multiple price hikes, my loyalty to the brand remained intact because of the trust
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