{"id":4251221,"date":"2020-06-24T13:05:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T11:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/insight\/establishing-trust-as-a-new-direct-to-consumer-brand\/"},"modified":"2020-06-24T13:05:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T11:05:00","slug":"establishing-trust-as-a-new-direct-to-consumer-brand","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/en-uki\/insight\/establishing-trust-as-a-new-direct-to-consumer-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Establishing trust as a new direct to consumer brand"},"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\tEstablishing trust as a new direct to consumer brand\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\tLizzie Powell\t\t
\n\t\tVP of Growth, Experience and Engineering\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t24 June 2020\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\tIn this difficult period, businesses have been forced to adjust their models. B2B manufacturers have rapidly sought to pivot to direct-to-consumer ecommerce; a response to the challenges posed by reseller closures and the limitations placed on traditional sales channels.\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tWhether your business is building a new ecommerce platform, choosing to list products on an existing marketplace like Amazon, or is temporarily closed and looking to communicate with furloughed staff, your business needs to begin winning the audience\u2019s trust. Trust that services will continue to operate. Trust that key online orders will be delivered. Trust that details usually covered by face-to-face meetings can be dealt with over the phone or online.

Communicating trust is a challenge, particularly when it has moved from being a point of distinction for brands like John Lewis and LL Bean, to an expectation. When a past point of distinction becomes an industry standard, brands start to explore it in further depth. This isn\u2019t just applicable to \u2018trust\u2019; as an example, consider the supermarket sector\u2019s approach to value. Every retailer wants to show that they offer good value products, pushing each brand to take a distinct approach based on their own identity. The result is an industry that can include M&S\u2019s \u2018Spend it well\u2019 and Aldi\u2019s look-alike brands.

For many brands launching to a new target market, trust levels will be way down. Reactive work to establish the baseline that \u2018needs can be met\u2019 is vitally important. For businesses that have had to adapt their model to a digital-first or D2C approach, proving to customers and clients that the service is operating as well as before is a necessity.\u00a0

With this in mind, it is important to consider how we judge trust. In\u00a0\u2018How Humans Judge Machines<\/a>,\u2019 Cesar Hidalgo states that \u201cpeople judge humans by their intentions, and machines by the outcome<\/em>.\u201d A business is a machine, constituent parts performing a task, therefore proof of outcome is key to gaining trust among potential customers.

This is why the past decade has seen an explosion of online reviews. A study on Airbnb demonstrates the effect of positive reviews. The study found that when comparing products with fewer than ten reviews each, customers would prioritise reviews from similar demographics to their own. But, with ten or more reviews, customers would go for the option with the most positive reviews. High reputation trumps high similarity. It is interesting to apply this to the B2B space. Many people assume that a single, highly relevant case study is the key to winning a new contract, however this study suggests that B2Bs should not neglect the high number of happy clients they are serving.

If we think of how this can be actioned on a landing page, consider designs that juxtapose the relevant case study, selected through dynamic content that uses what is already known about the visitor, with the quantity of positive reviews from clients across the business. Herd mentality is a powerful behaviour to play on.

The effect of reviews should be considered by any businesses that are starting to use Amazon as a new distribution channel during the COVID-19 crisis. For example, in studying their online sales and landing pages, Unilever found that the sweet spot for consumer reviews was 4.1- 4.5 out of 5, and that sales slightly dropped off from 4.6 onwards. Fake reviews do affect the ecommerce industry and erode trust, however this Unilever study suggests that consumers have a natural suspicion of overly positive reviews.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tFame, Feeling, Fluency\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tMany marketers will already be familiar with the concept of\u00a0Fame, Feeling and Fluency:<\/a>
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