It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
-- Warren Buffett
In an earlier post I wrote about the importance of trust for premium pricing. But trust extends beyond confidence in the product; trust is even more important when considering working with a vendor.
"Body scans are never saved."
The new scanners used by TSA in major airports show a virtually naked view of the travelers. Ignoring the discomfort of having ANY strangers see us naked, the TSA insists the images are looked at by officers in a remote location and not by staff at the machine, and that the images are deleted immediately after the passenger is cleared through security. Yet pictures from these machines continue to pop up on the internet. We just don't trust the vendor of the machines or the TSA to do what they say.
"We won't spam you."
We give our names and email to a trusted vendor who abuses it when revenues are off. Over the protests of the "good" marketing people, the execs or sales people or "bad" marketing people insist that the downside of spamming customers is offset by the increase in revenue. "If we can make a million, who cares if we lose only 10% of our names?" But the vendor has lost more than that. Trust is gone.
Trust is earned
Why do we buy Toyota instead of GM? Design and quality over decades.
Why do we buy Apple instead of Microsoft? Design and quality over decades.
Why do we buy this instead of that? Design and quality over decades.
What can you do to increase trust with your customers? Isn't this really what marketing is all about?
