Posted by Hugh Shelley - 10363991 Feb 2018 Modern marketing has taken a 180 degree turn on traditional marketing methods, literally inverting the funnel on how companies perceive the relationship between their brand and their customers.Brands are increasingly putting their faith in Inbound Marketing strategies, earning genuine trust among their followers as they build brand relationships through the use of social media. The trend of bombarding the customer with information on how great your product or service is, and relying on this to drive customers to your door, has now flipped. The most successful companies now present a more relatable, personal face of their company in an effort to build trust among their customers. Based on the truism that people talk to their friends about your brand no matter what you do, if your brand communicates in a genuinely open and friendly manner that provides advice and help to your audience, then they will respond in kind. Effectively becoming brand ambassadors for your company. The importance of building trust and developing personal relationships between your brand & your customers has been understood by some since the industrial revolution, when the Victorians started using images of children & families on packaging to make them more trustworthy and relatable. This was the early days of brand recognition and the brands that managed this best got the larger share of the market. However, this traditional marketing model led to the idea that if you shouted loud enough & printed your advertising large enough then you would win more customers than your rivals. Such outbound Marketing methods utilised channels such as print advertising, newspapers, magazines, billboards, TV, radio and the dreaded cold calling, to name but a few. Trust & customer centricity Taking a more customer centric approach to marketing and less of a self centered one can lead to an enormous payoff in customer loyalty and brand affinity. Placing greater emphasis on understanding the customers needs & challenges. Building trust should now be a key part of any marketing strategy and a genuine drive to solve the everyday pain points of what your customers are trying to achieve should be foremost in the mind of every company. In her book, “Who wins the national trust” (1997) Jane Bainbridge states: " A trustworthy brand places the consumer at the center of its world and relies more on understanding real consumer needs and fulfilling them, than on the particular service or product " This approach does not always result in a quick payoff and is more of a long term game, but it has been proven to be priceless in the long run. As an example, when the computer company Dell experienced its own “Dell Hell” in 2005 it became apparent the company had lost touch with the customer helping it to stay in business. Their response to this, although driven by experience rather than foresight, was to create a customer centric response of openness, empathy and engagement. Driven by a singular voice within the company who spoke openly about the issues and used genuine customer engagement to develop solutions. " Brand trust goes beyond consumer’s satisfaction with the functional performance of the product and its attributes. " D.A. Aaker, 1996 So how does a company build trust in those relationships and is it really that important in today’s market.? After all, the internet has opened up an endless supply of customers right..? Wrong. Yes, the internet has opened up a global market to even the smallest business, but with such open access the world has never been smaller or closer than it is today. Entire companies are been driven by teams of professionals who have never met but conduct their meeting & business online. Communication has never been easier either. If you have something to say then the whole world is potentially there to hear you speak. Hearts & Minds With this in mind, the relationship you build with your audience becomes vital. If you are seen to be too pushy or brash then people lose trust and stop listening. The days of people flocking to your store because you are the loudest have past, you now have to win hearts and minds. You have to speak intellectually to your customer and it has to be genuine. You have to build trust. As a contrasting example of building trust & engaging with customers to build your brand, when Chanel released “No:5 The Film” for the 2004 Superbowl it was reportedly one of the most expensive “branded content” ad campaigns with a budget of $33 million and was thought to be hugely successful. However, as a reposte to Chanel, the Pepsi Cola company began a simple campaign whereby they took the $20million budget normally spent on their Superbowl ad and asked their audience “What would you do with a share of the money”. Their audience went nuts, nearly breaking their phone service & internet, asking for a share to fund community projects all over America. It was by far for me, one of the greatest examples of generating earned media & good will for a brand that I have ever seen. Building trust is one of the most important factors in modern digital marketing and it has never been so important as it is now. According to the Eldeman Trust Barometer trust levels are at an all time low. Almost ⅔ of surveyed countries have a trust rating of less than 50% (Eldman 2017) Speaking to the lack of trust in 4 key sectors, Business, Government, NGO’s & Media, Eldeman suggests: " To rebuild trust and restore faith in the system, institutions must step outside of their traditional roles and work toward a new, more integrated operating model that puts people — and the addressing of their fears — at the center of everything they do. " The trust you build through the sharing of your experience & knowledge will inevitably lead to sales. A study by Neilson 2015 shows that 85% of consumers placed “recommendations from people I know” at the top of their trusted sources when deciding on a purchase, followed by branded websites (78%), editorials (71%) and online consumer opinions (70%) in fourth place. If you use the benefits of your experience & knowledge to help solve the problems of your customers they will become your greatest ambassadors. I once looked up the process for servicing a garden lawnmower and found a YouTube video of a 12 year old showing me how to do it. At the age of 12, this kid in America knew that by offering something of use to me I would probably come back, and I might even spread the word… and he was dead right. To date I must have told 50 people about that video. Turning Owned media into earned media Using the assets available to your company, owned media such as Images or video, articles written or published by you or facilities you own, you can provide help and advice to people who need it and in turn build respect & trust and attract the type of customer you are aiming for. You also have other types of owned media at your disposal, for example, the staff you employ are one of your biggest assets and the experience & knowledge they possess is priceless. Use this accumulated knowledge to become the expert in your market and customers will look to you to provide trustworthy solutions. Take the time to find your story, by telling it people will engage with you and relate to you better and may even be willing to share your story with others. A previous project of mine focused on doing just that. While studying graphic design in Coláiste Dhúlaigh, Dublin, I noticed an opportunity to tell the stories of some of those in the college. I created Legacy Magazine, a multi media publication focused on promoting the work of students, staff & college, and on building relationships with past alumni & the wider business community. It is a great example of how you can take the seemingly everyday practices & use them to provide useful information as a resource for your audience to draw upon. Find your voice Your business has a story, you just need to give it a voice. The earned media you can generate when done correctly can be worth more than a good sized advertising budget. Be aware also that the voice you use to tell that story is also very important. Tone & voice are communicated by a number of factors including the type of still & video content you use, the words that you write, and even the colours you use to present your brand. If you’re interested, you can find my design dissertation on colour theory here, it goes into more depth regarding how consumer choices are affected by colour. To sum up a little, if you are still on the fence about just how much benefit your company or organisation can get from simply engaging with your customers online, do a little of your own research or have a look around you at some of the most influential companies out there. Have a look at the sea change currently under way, look at how they view customer relationship management and corporate & social responsibility, how they see it affecting their business in the years to come. For example, a recent article in the Harvard Business Review by Rebecca M. Henderson looks at how companies such as Facebook, Apple and Blackrock are leading this sea change, she states: " Companies are beginning to realize that paying attention to the longer term, to the perceptions of their company, and to the social consequences of their products is good business. " Henderson continues by arguing that there are further benefits to corporate responsibility: " In some industries and under some conditions, socially and environmentally responsible firms are at least as profitable and, sometimes more profitable than their conventional rivals. " So go find your story and tell it to your audience. Discover what it is they really need and find out how you can help. Be genuine about it and be grateful for it when they begin to share your story for you. Remember, Giving is the new Taking. Research links & references can be found below.
Title Photo by Kimson Doan on Unsplash
3 Comments
Celine Curran
27/2/2018 20:44:56
Great blog post ... I also believe this is the way forward in digital marketing.. real relationship building
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Susan P
28/2/2018 18:35:50
Great article
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1/3/2018 00:11:49
A lovely read. Thanks for the insight Hugh - bring on the next one ;-)
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