What comes to mind when you think about your favorite brand? Typically, when a consumer really likes a brand, they trust the brand to deliver on its promise in every interaction and experience. Since they trust the brand to meet their expectations consistently, they choose it over other brands – even if it costs more or they have to travel farther to get it.
What I just described is the power of a brand. It’s an unwavering trust built over time – a trust that inspires people to pay more, travel farther, and accept inconvenience. Considering that most consumers want the quickest, cheapest, and easiest solution, it’s clear that brand trust is a very, very big deal for businesses – including yours.
It’s important to understand that developing brand trust isn’t easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight. However, it’s absolutely critical for business growth. Just as people won’t trust other people whom they can’t depend on, consumers won’t trust a brand that they can’t depend on. And just as is takes time to trust another person, it also takes time to trust a brand.
Investing the time to build brand trust is worth the effort. Take a look at the four key ways brand trust gives your business a competitive edge to learn the benefits it brings.
1. Increased Consumer Confidence
Consumers are always more likely to buy from a brand they trust over one they’ve never heard of before, have heard less about, or simply don’t trust yet.
Fear of the unknown is a strong emotion that directly affects consumer purchase decisions. Human psychology tells us that people are much more likely to buy from a brand they recognize than one they’re not familiar with.
2. Increased Sales
A recognizable brand boosts consumers’ comfort levels with it, which makes your job much easier in terms of converting them to paying customers.
As long as all consumer communications and experiences with the brand consistently meet their expectations for it, their recognition of your brand and their trust in it will continue to grow. As a result, sales will grow, too.
3. Increased Repeat Purchases
When you trust a brand to meet your expectations in every interaction, you’ll become loyal to it. You know the brand will deliver on its promise consistently based on your previous experiences with it.
When consumers become loyal to your brand, they’ll make repeat purchases – again and again. It’s much easier and less expensive to retain customers than it is to attract new ones, so clearly, the importance of brand trust should not be underestimated.
4. Increased Positive Word-of-Mouth Marketing
When someone trusts a brand, they’ll talk about it with other people online and offline. Loyal customers are powerful brand advocates, and word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing.
In fact, positive word-of-mouth marketing gives your business a competitive edge by furthering brand recognition and trust among broader audiences. In time, some of those audience members could become your customers and increase your sales and revenue even more.
Your Next Steps
To build brand trust, you need to stick to the three fundamental rules of branding: consistency, persistence, and restraint. In other words, consistently get your brand messages out there in front of consumers so they become aware of it and comfortable with it. Second, be persistent and don’t give up. It takes time to build a brand and trust in it!
Finally, exercise restraint. While it can be tempting to seize every opportunity to build your brand, only pursue those opportunities that are consistent with your brand’s promise or you’ll confuse consumers. Confusion is the number one brand killer, so avoid it at all costs!
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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