May

Ten simple ways that health brand marketers can build trust through healthy conversations

Trust is one of the drivers of brand credibility. Yet the one thing we’ve learned this past year is that trust is hard to find. Going forward, it will grow in importance, to become one of the most important and sustainable competitive advantages an organization can own.

Here’s a checklist of ten very simple things your customers would ask of you to earn their trust. As is usually the case, it’s the little things - like listening, being transparent and responsive – that often matter most:

1. don’t over promise
2. do what you say you will do
3. reduce my level of stress
4. make my life simpler
5. don’t talk about me behind my back
6. keep my confidential information between you and me
7. stay in touch
8. talk to me, not at me
9. do for me what I can’t do for myself
10. and do it better than any other brand

Really shouldn’t be all that difficult. If your trustworthy.

Apr

Trust – is it the most important quality, and differentiator, of a healthy brand?

Amidst all the lies and deceit, we yearn for the truth. Because our trust has eroded. And without trust, nothing else matters. It’s an intangible that overrides the importance of any product, service or experience. It’s the foundation and one of the most desired qualities in a relationship. Alas, truth is behind every great brand.

In fact, TRUST just might be the biggest differentiator, the most sustainable competitive advantage that companies can now secure. And the funny thing about telling the truth, about earning trust, is that it doesn’t require any significant expenditure. Yet the payback is enormous, and lasting.

Mountains of articles provide advice for weathering the downturn. Marketers are advised to seize new opportunities, focus their resources, integrate their marketing, stay close to their customers, exploit digital channels, become more social. But none of it matters if you don’t level with people.

So I would add another strategy to all these lists about pressing on through the downturn (as well as the good times): Tell The Truth. Because nothing else matters.

What do you think?

Mar

Tapping into the power of authenticity, an example for healthy lifestyle brands

At a time when deception and lies are coming at us from all directions, we search for greater meaning and sincerity from the brands we choose. Brands that live their values, practice what they preach and try hard not to let us down.

Here’s a nice example of authenticity (in this case, grass roots qualities) from condiment maker Beerenberg’s introduction of Provenance Pathway. After purchasing the product (strawberry jam), customers enter the items barcode and expiration date on the company website. An overview of the product appears, including photos of the people who made it, the product specs, and an implementation of Google Earth to map the farms where the main ingredients originated.