{"id":4250973,"date":"2021-06-29T13:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T13:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/insight\/why-building-trust-makes-business-sense\/"},"modified":"2021-06-29T13:52:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T13:52:00","slug":"why-building-trust-makes-business-sense","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/en-uki\/insight\/why-building-trust-makes-business-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"Why building trust makes business sense"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\n\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tBack to all articles\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n<\/a>\n\t\tWhy building trust makes business sense\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\n\t<\/div>
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\n\t\tAlexandra Moorhouse\t\t
\n\t\tMarketing Director, UK&I\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t29 June 2021\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\tConsumers now have instant access to pretty much anything, anywhere. The transition towards living the majority of our lives online, making increasing volumes of decisions and purchases with simple swipes and clicks, has been built on trust. Trust that our orders will be delivered on time, our personal data won\u2019t be shared without permission and that the businesses we spend with truly align with our personal values and morals. Trust is central to digital, but it is waning. The pandemic, resulting economic crisis and ongoing outcry over racial injustice put consumer trust to the test throughout the last year; with trust in UK-headquartered companies falling five points to 56%, its lowest position in eight years of tracking, on the\u00a02021 Edelman Trust Barometer<\/a>.\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tAcross the world, the Edelman report shows that trust tumbled almost four points on average across the world\u2019s largest economies last year. Interestingly, of the four institutions analysed (business, government, NGOs and media) the majority of trust shifted from government to business; although its ranking of 61% was only two points above the neutral category. Businesses now have a prime opportunity to advance ahead, but as the significance of trust will continue to intensify they will need to prove that they can evolve with trust trends to succeed in the new reality.\u00a0
\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tAuthentic accumulation\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tThere are three primary areas that businesses are experimenting within to gain trust: climate; privacy; and corporate citizenship. Although it\u2019s true that the majority of people want to align with brands that have a positive environmental impact, handle personal and sensitive information securely and are on the whole acting with integrity for their customers and internal teams; a focus on these themes has seen companies share their promises en masse, leading it to become expected by consumers, rather than a unique proposition that helps build trust.

As a result, this is no longer enough. Now, companies need to distinguish what is base level best practice, and where the brand can gain an edge and build trust through authentically brand-aligned narratives.\u00a0
Brands can learn valuable lessons in authenticity from the BBC. According to the\u00a0Reuters Digital News Report 2021<\/a>, it is the most trusted news network in the UK.

Why? Partly because it is strictly regulated and impartial, but largely because it places significant value on accuracy of reporting over speed, unlike many of its\u00a0dis<\/em>trusted competitors. The BBC recognises that the information overload digital has created reduces trust levels, and leverages this as a driver to be the most trusted news brand, focusing on being reliable rather than being the first.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tDeveloping a trust narrative\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tGenuine trust cannot be gained solely through marketing spend. It is a much longer burn strategy that needs to be bought into by the board and CEO, and cemented in the vision and mission in order to effectively trickle through to the wider organisation.\u00a0

To be truly authentic, brands need to avoid paying lip service through disingenuous\u00a0campaigns<\/a>\u00a0and buzzwords. With public awareness and tension continually growing around \u2018greenwashing\u2019 and \u2018rainbow-washing\u2019 in relation to environmental and Pride campaigns, it\u2019s important to find trust narratives that\u00a0best align with the brand<\/a>\u00a0and target groups, and embed them throughout the business all year round rather than an awareness day, week or month.

By aligning with a narrative in an authentic way, brands can build trust through storytelling.\u00a0Divine Chocolate<\/a>\u00a0serves as a great example, which through its \u2018Divine Difference\u2019 initiative has grown to become a farmer co-owned company, using the power of chocolate to delight customers while building dignified trading relationships with cocoa farmers who earn a share of the profits they help to create. The brand frequently shares stories about its farmers and innovative projects delivered, including enabling women to secure their land rights and developing forest-friendly farming to help protect the rainforest.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tNew age appeal\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tThe shift in generational dominance is putting trust even higher on the agenda. Younger, digital-native consumers are significantly more hesitant about pledging loyalty and trust to brands. Therefore, a \u2018one and done\u2019 campaign isn\u2019t going to deliver amongst a Gen Z audience.\u00a0

These new age customers expect transparency but won\u2019t necessarily ask for it, so they respect businesses that hold themselves accountable so that they don\u2019t have to. A recent study found that\u00a075% of Gen Z<\/a>\u00a0felt that being politically or socially engaged was very important to their identity. Being significantly more activism led than older generations, to effectively engage with and build trust amongst this group, brands need to live and breathe their chosen trust narrative to ensure that every brand engagement is mutually valuable.

Exponential, fundamental change is happening in the digital world. With the\u00a0cookie quickly crumbling<\/a>\u00a0and demands for positive impact increasing, brands are scrambling to future-ready themselves. But a belief that doing good is good business will help brands navigate the changing landscape and establish a strong value exchange that will be essential to succeed in this new reality.\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t