The Danger Of Wallowing In Brand Ignorance The Danger Of Wallowing In Brand Ignorance | Page 77

I had built with them. If I didn’ t trust them, I wouldn’ t still be their customer. Similarly, we’ ve faced price reviews at Pandora Agency Ltd without significantly impacting customer retention- measuring 95 % retention despite these increases. This is the power of trust in maintaining customer loyalty.

Crisis Resilience: Coca-Cola has weathered numerous brand crises and negative perceptions over decades. Despite facing setbacks in different markets, Coca-Cola’ s brand loyalty and trust have allowed it to recover faster and stronger. This highlights the resilience that brand trust provides, helping businesses bounce back from challenges.

Measuring Trust in Government

Measuring trust in government institutions works slightly differently but remains equally crucial. Trust can improve:

Readiness to Comply: When citizens trust the government, they are more likely to comply with policies.

Engagement in Public Initiatives: Initiatives such as public health programs benefit from high engagement when trust is built over time. A notable example is the Covid-19 pandemic, where governments with high trust levels had an easier time rolling out vaccine programs.

Communication Efficiency: Trusted government messages spread more quickly through community partners, extending their reach without additional costs.

In 2015, Rwanda’ s tax compliance rate hovered around 65 %, significantly below its regional targets. The Rwanda Revenue Authority( RRA) recognized a public perception issue and launched a campaign called " Taxes for Development." The campaign focused on transparency, including a public portal that showed how tax money was being spent and a simplified tax filing system for small businesses. Community outreach and recognition of compliant taxpayers were also key elements.

The results were impressive. Over three years, voluntary compliance rates increased from 65 % to 83 %; tax revenue increased by 32 %, while enforcement costs decreased by 18 %; and public trust ratings improved from 62 % to 89 %.

For every $ 1 spent on transparency initiatives, the RRA gained $ 9.40 in additional tax revenue and cost savings. The Director-General of RRA, Richard Tusabe, commented, " Building trust was not just good governance- it was fiscally responsible."

Before 2019, trust measurement at Singapore ' s Government Technology Agency( GovTech) was poorly structured. This made it hard to justify spending on trust-building initiatives, especially in the digital government space. GovTech tackled this by creating a trust framework that directly connected public trust to service usage and cost savings.

Some key components of this framework included: quarterly surveys measuring citizens ' trust, segmented by demographics; tracking usage rates and comparing digital services with traditional services; and evaluating data security and response times to citizen concerns.

In just two years, GovTech observed significant improvements: for every 5-point increase in trust, 14 % more people used digital services; costs dropped by 17 % as trust increased; and public trust in government digital services soared.

An interesting finding emerged during the pandemic: Singapore’ s contact tracing app, TraceTogether, had a 70 % adoption rate, far surpassing similar apps in other countries. The main reason? Established trust.

This led to both health and financial benefits. GovTech estimated that high trust saved Singapore about $ 258 million in pandemic costs through better compliance and more efficient digital services.

Kok Ping Soon, Chief Executive of GovTech, said, " We ' ve shown that trust can be measured, managed, and turned into financial value. Our framework lets us make smart decisions about trust investments based on their expected returns."

How To Build Your Own Trust ROI Framework

What are Your Metrics: conduct customer / citizen trust surveys, measure current customer acquisition costs, track price sensitivity, document compliance or participation rates, and measure employee retention rates.

Identify Specific Trust Drivers: use focus groups to uncover what builds or breaks trust, analyze complaints and feedback for trust issues, and benchmark against industry leaders.

Implement Targeted Trust Initiatives: prioritize actions with the highest potential ROI, set clear objectives for each initiative, and allocate adequate resources.

Track Both Trust Metrics and Business Outcomes: measure changes in trust levels, track corresponding business metrics, and calculate correlation between trust improvements and financial outcomes.

Calculate and Communicate ROI: determine the full cost of trust initiatives, measure direct and indirect benefits, calculate return on investment, and share results with stakeholders.

Trust is not only essential for the success of businesses and government institutions, but it is also measurable and financially beneficial. The case studies from Rwanda, Singapore, and others clearly show that investing in trustbuilding initiatives leads to tangible results- higher customer retention, improved compliance, and cost savings. Organizations that recognize trust as a strategic asset and measure its impact are more likely to gain a competitive edge in an increasingly transparent market.

Now, ask yourself: 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.

Kehinde Ruth Onasoga is the Principal Consultant, Pandora Agency Limited. You can commune with her on this or related matters via email at: Kro @ pandoraagency. co.