Building trust by being social. The most important quality, and differentiator, of a healthy brand?

Posted by john April 19, 2009 @ 8:53 am
Internet Marketing

Hi and Thanks for checking out my blog again. Where there is always something new to learn.

Amidst all the lies and deceit, we yearn for the truth. Because our trust has eroded. And without trust, nothing else matters. It’s an intangible that overrides the importance of any product, service or experience. It’s the foundation and one of the most desired qualities in a relationship. Alas, truth is behind every great brand.

In fact, TRUST just might be the biggest differentiator, the most sustainable competitive advantage that companies can now secure. And the funny thing about earning trust is that it doesn’t require any significant expenditure. Yet the payback is enormous, and lasting.

Mountains of articles provide advice for weathering the downturn. Marketers are advised to seize new opportunities, focus their resources, integrate their marketing, stay close to their customers and exploit digital channels. But none of it matters if people don’t trust you.

So I would add another strategy to all these lists about pressing on through the downturn (as well as the good times): Be open. Be honest. Build trust. And use the power of social media to help you get there.

Here’s how you build trust by being social:

• first, realize that you’re no longer steering the ship and that the sooner you let go, the sooner you’ll gain more in return from your customers

• acknowledge that people trust other people more than they do organizations and their marketing messages

• open up communications channels with customers to allow for more of their input and participation with your brand

• provide content that enables and encourages open and unfiltered interaction among customers

• be prepared to take the good with the bad – as customers don’t expect perfection, but do expect companies to admit, and fix the situation, when they let us down

Eric Brody is President of Trajectory branding and marketing (www.trajectory4brands.com) – a firm that is expert in re-energizing health + healthy lifestyle brands to create new value for customers, companies and shareholders. His Healthy Conversations blog can be found at www.ericbrodysblog.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/building-trust-by-being-social-the-most-important-quality-and-differentiator-of-a-healthy-brand-871822.html

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