Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Aspartame, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Benzoate, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Caffeine
Do you trust the list of items above? Do you even know what they are? Well this is one of the most trusted brands in the world. These are the ingredients of Diet Coke (Coca Cola light in Europe). What does true trust consist of? Is it trust in the ingredients? Trust in the logo? Trust in the name? Trust in the company? Knowing the answer to these questions is important. Trust is the glue that keeps customers and companies together. Trust is the currency of loyalty. Without it, there is no loyalty. Trust is the currency companies must deposit to withdraw customer loyalty.
Trust, as important as it is, is also one of the most misunderstood concepts in relationships. In the commercial world, companies tend to believe that trust is a factor of advertising, design, or product naming. They associate trust with abstract concepts such as branding. In real life, people (a.k.a. customers) trust people. They do not trust ingredients (especially ingredients they cannot even pronounce). Customers who purchase and drink Diet Coke trust the PEOPLE at Coca Cola to do the right thing and deliver a reliable and refreshing product to them. The trust is in the people. Advertising and product naming only create expectations. Often they heighten existing expectations. Trust is not bestowed on a clever slogan or a smart logo design. They are all representations of a promise. An unfulfilled promise. It is the trust in the people of Coca Cola that drives customers. People (customers) trust the people (employees) of Coca Cola to take the expectation created by the company and bring it to complete fulfillment. Expectations are not met by slogans and promises. They are met by people.
This simple, common sense fact is ignored by many organizations. It is more convenient to believe that the strength of the companys relationship with customers is based on an abstract concept such as a logo or brand name. The reason for this wishful thinking varies from the need to own the asset (logos and slogans are intangible intellectual assets that are assigned to their owners) to the ongoing ignorance of the value and contribution of people to the overall success of the business.
Trust is the core of any relationship. Without it, one of two alternatives will occur . Either customers will use pricing as the key purchasing / relationship factor or they will choose not to purchase / be in a relationship altogether. Either alternative is not a desirable one. If we accept the fact that trust is the currency of relationships, then companies need to learn how to save it and use this valuable currency. How to accumulate it and protect it. But in most cases, it is another aspect of customer relationships that is left unstructured, misunderstood and unmanaged. It is left to the personal and various interpretations of each employee and customer. As such, it cannot easily be repeated and improved upon.
Take an honest look internally. In your organization,
· What is the definition of trust?
· How do you create trust?
· What training is available to employees and managers about trust?
· How is trust perceived by the customers?
· What are the key success factors of trust for your products?
· What success factors will make your trust exceed customer expectations?
· Who delivers trust to your customers?
· How do you manage trust?
· How do you conserve trust?
· What activities dilute and waste your trust with customers?
· Who is in charge of managing trust?
· How does trust evolve in light of competition?
· How should trust evolve in light of customer changes?
Theses are only some of the key questions that should serve as a litmus test to examine the state of trust in your company. If the answer to many of these questions is marketing and the brand, you are back to the misconception that people trust Phosphoric Acid. They do not. They trust people. Every moment that you continue with this line of thinking you grant your competition access to your customer relationships and provide them with a lucrative option to provide a better, more trustworthy alternative.
There is shift that needs to take place for companies to start taking trust seriously. The questions above should be confronted and addressed with people as the key to success. Trust needs to be understood and managed. Employees need to understand their contribution to every aspect of trust building or demolishing. Despite the argument that trust may be vague and intangible, it is very real. It is quickly translated into repeat business, happier customers, prouder employees and product evangelizing. This intangible factor has a very real, clear representation: smiling people and ringing cash registers. In light of these strong visible proofs, the argument of intangibility should be reconsidered.
Companies have become accustomed to managing intangibles, such as brand and goodwill power. These are perception-based measurements they employ to brag about their strength and success. It is time to measure the real intangibles. It is time to adopt and evaluate the true intangibles that make the difference. The strength and quality of trust is a better indicator of customers repeat business than preference towards a design or logo. Trusting the companys employees is more likely to lead to loyalty and referrals than a slick new advertising campaign. This truth should not elude any executive who is serious about the long term prospects of his product and company.
Trust brings us to an aspect of the business that might not effortlessly fit into the world of corporate performance pie charts and graphs. It is the human side. The emotional factor we discussed in previous articles. But, as we discussed, customers are emotional in their decisions. Expecting customer loyalty is, in essence, expecting them to act emotionally. Upon further examination, you will see that trust can be broken into components. You can also identify the touch points in your organization that hemorrhage trust through bad or indifferent behavior. In some cases, trust is not only the things you do for customers but the things you choose not to do for them. Give it some thought; you can quickly identify your trust factor. Measure it against your competitors and customer expectations. You will get a pretty good picture of your trust factor. But make sure not to fool yourself. Trust is not a matter of a brilliant logo or slogan. It is not a matter of a flashy picture of famous person in your advertising. Trust is a long term investment in the relationship. Just like currency, it takes a commitment to saving and minimizing spending to ensure a healthy balance in your account. Treat your trust factor like hard earned currency. Save it and do not waste it. This is a formula for successful long lasting relationships.
2004-09-08
Lior Arussy is the president of Strativity Group, Inc. and the author of The Experience! (CMPBooks 2002) He can be reached at [email protected]
Em Foco – Opinião