In a recent article, I explored the concept and importance of brands building a level of trust with their customers that would ultimately lead to lasting and profitable relationships.
In a world of fast moving business, we have to get back to thinking like a small company, and providing our customers with a personalised service that keeps them coming back for more, and of course sharing those good experiences with their networks.
Here are my 3 tips for building a trusted brand that leads to customer loyalty:
1. Invest in Customer Loyalty
If you are interested in reading more about trust I recommend The Loyalty Effect and The Ultimate Question 2.0, both by Fred Reichheld ~ named as one of the world’s top 25 consultants, so certainly a guy worth listening to. In his books he describes why trust and loyalty are so important to marketers in this superb example;
Imagine two companies. The first churns 10% of its customers each year but the second company only loses 10% of its customers each year. If both companies grow consistently at 10% per year, the first company will stay the same size, but the second company will double in size within 14 years. This is the difference between a short term (transactional) relationship, and a long term (loyal) customer relationship.
2. Invest in Customer Journeys
In 2013 consulting firm McKinsey measured the value of long term customer relationships, where marketers looked at the entire customer journey, not just individual transactions. Their research discovered that marketing that revolved around customer journeys is strongly correlated with business outcomes;
• 36% increase in customer satisfaction
• 19% more likely to remain loyal
• 28% more likely to recommend the brand to their friends
• 33% less likely to churn
3. Invest in Transparency
The more customers understand how a business operates and what it does, the more trusted it becomes. A good example of this is the way that we communicate our own system performance to our customers. Salesforce is so committed to trust and transparency, that we even have a website http://trust.salesforce.com/ to show our customers in real-time, exactly what is going on within our clouds. It this kind of thinking that has helped us become such a trusted brand.
The Future Looks Bright for European Marketers
What gives me hope as a marketer in Europe, that despite the tough economic outlook, there has never been a better time to be a marketer ~ especially in Europe. This chart from the Edelman Trust Barometer Report looks at where the most trusted companies are headquartered. You will notice that 7 of the top 10 are in Europe. Not only should that make European marketers proud, but it should remind us that we have a great responsibility to help companies and our clients remain market leaders.
Discover how your peers are approaching their marketing in this State of Marketing in 2015 report and please do let me know in the comments if you have additional recommendations for building a trusted brand.
