How Trust Factor Builds Brands and Sells New (And Old) Products

Who do you trust?

When it comes to our purchasing habits, all the advertising in the world isn’t going to sway your decision to buy if you don’t trust the company behind the product. And if that trust hasn’t been built through a brand’s current lineup of products, it certainly will make new product launches a challenge.

And to the point, marketers and salespeople – the folks responsible, one way or another, for convincing you to buy – aren’t necessarily in the best position to be leading the charge. A survey on the topic by HubSpot found that a mere 3 percent of respondents considered marketers trustworthy.

Trust is hard to build, but it’s a critical component of a strong brand, and will make the difference in any company’s ability to bring one hit after another to the market – and sustain market leadership over time.

Just ask Apple. The iPhone 4 sold 1.7 million units in its first three days. The iPhone 3G sold over 1 million units on launch weekend. And 300,000-plus iPad WiFi-only units were sold on launch day. That’s the kind of traction trust has earned, and creating one of the world’s most valuable brands in the process.

One thing that leading brands like Apple do to build that trust is establish an emotional connection with consumers. Jonmichael Moy, a Toronto tech executive with experience in bringing new digital products to market, notes that people develop trust when they experience an emotional connection with a brand and their products.

“If that’s not leveraged in products, the marketing strategy will fail,” Jonmichael Moy adds.

If that emotional connection happens to look like happiness, all the better. When brands make people happy, a study by the Guardian found, their well-being is influenced and they are more likely to more receptive to buying. Zappos.com is not only one of the world’s most trusted brands, but its founder, Tony Hsieh, has achieved it by making people happy (along with other practices that create trust).

Another factor that leads to trust is the consumer’s confidence that a product has been designed with the customer experience front and center and that the brand will consistently deliver upon consumer expectations.  As CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos has said, “We see our customers as invited guests to a party and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

Honesty and transparency also play an integral part in creating trust within a brand. Whether it’s in an organization’s opinions, thoughts, insights, news and actions, and through good times or bad, the more forthright it is the more that trust is solidified.

How? Jason DeMers, a Seattle-based content marketer, suggests, “You could respond to a negative review with an admission of failure and an apology or you could make a public post that your product shipments are delayed. It may not be good, happy news, but people will respond you more if you’re direct and honest with them.”

Strong brands are known for their consistency at delighting and engaging customers with products that anticipate their needs and don’t compromise the trust that’s been banked over time. And that’s what makes the difference in whether new offers will fly – or not.