Trust - The essential ingredient in effective brand communication.
“Trust is the glue of life. It’s an essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships”. Stephen Covey
Last month I attended the first ever UK Trust conference in London. The event was hosted by Talent Dynamics and featured a range of speakers from successful entrepreneurs to global company directors with Stephen MR Covey ( the son of well-known author Stephen Covey ) as the event’s keynote speaker.
The key topic of the event was ‘How to use trust and flow in your business to increase loyalty and profits’.
When you think about the present economic climate, from the recession to bank charges and PPI scandal, it’s not hard to see why this topic is a big talking point for many business owners. As a small business owner myself, I understand just how important trust is to building client relationships and word of mouth referrals.
There have been plenty of stories about big brands whose businesses have taken a nose dive, or who had to take a financial hit when a product or campaign mislead consumers or failed to deliver the promise they claimed.
And the growth of social media has made it harder for businesses and brands to hide from their mistakes or responsibilities. With so much competition brands have come to realise how valuable a loyal customer base is to create a sustainable and profitable business.
With so much great content covered by the speakers at the Trust Conference, I thought I’d share some of the key takeaways I got from the event;
Talk straight
This is all about being transparent, declaring your intent, being open and honest about what you can do and what will be done by others. It’s about using simple language E.G cutting out the industry fluff or *BS*.
Keep commitment
Business commitment or a service commitment – when you create a brand promise it's important to make sure you deliver on that promise.
Right wrongs
If a customer is unhappy to be quick to put things right. This is often hard, as it means holding your hands up when you’ve made a mistake. It’s about taking responsibility for your part and remembering that you just never know who this customer knows!
Listen first
Be 100% in the room. This is about listening to what your clients or customers are saying, the more you listen, the more you’ll be able to hear their challenges and create the right solutions. As a creative person, this is something I have often found difficult because ideas can happen spontaneously which means we can often jump in too early with ideas.
However, over the years I’ve learnt to hang back and ask better questions which in turn has allowed me to get to the heart of what the client is really looking to achieve.
Inspire Trust (Love this one!)
Speaking of people as though they are in the room which is about showing respect at all times. I think this is especially important for people in leadership and management roles when you want to create trust within a team or staff.
The common thread throughout the event was that whether in your personal or business life, there is no getting away from the fact that trust plays a vital role when creating confidence as well as credibility within the marketplace. The more trust there is the greater the rewards personally and financially.
So... how important is trust to you in relation to building a business or maybe you have a story to tell? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Have a great month :-)
Debbie Evran
