Aligning the Brand with Customer Values
Brand trust measures how confident consumers are in the business. Is the information provided accurate? Do products and services perform to the highest standards with quality a key assurance? Is customer service at a high level? These can be key consumer purchasing preferences and considerations.
Brand trust is also one avenue to standing out from the competition by establishing company values and standing by them. Investing in market research, having a 360-degree view of the customer’s wants and needs, making products and services not just acceptable but exceptional, and building strong customer relationships can all help support the growth of brand trust and loyalty.
Morning Consult’s “A Business Leader’s Guide to Building Brand Trust,” looks further at the concepts behind brand trust:
- Set brand trust goals and measure progress: Every organization will have a different set of brand trust goals, but generally, these include increasing sales, maintaining or building loyalty, gaining positive customer reviews, and increasing referrals.
- Consistently provide great customer experiences: Providing a positive customer experience will be a huge factor in not only growing your customer base, but also maintaining it. Personalized, high-quality experiences show customers that their needs are understood, which translates to increased brand loyalty over time.
- Build a deep understanding of your target audience and market: The more you understand your audience, the more effectively you can target them. And the more intentional you are with your marketing, the more your audience feels understood and connected, increasing the likelihood that they will trust and purchase from your brand.
- Thoughtfully guide prospective customers to the solution best suited to their needs: Going hand in hand with providing a great customer experience and understanding your target audience is being able to guide prospective customers to the solution best suited to their needs. Brands should never take a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Establish your brand values and stand by them: These days, it’s not enough to just state your company’s mission. Consumers expect brands to reflect their own values. Remaining authentic to your spoken values and culture goes a long way with consumers.
- Prioritize and maintain customer relationships: When customers feel that a brand understands their needs and cares about their satisfaction, they are more likely to trust the brand and continue purchasing from it.
- Remain honest and transparent in brand communications: Transparent communication allows your audience to look under the hood of your brand, as well as its products and services, so you can maintain an honest and credible reputation.
Find the Winning Customer Loyalty Formula
All Things Insights examined brand loyalty in “Using Insights to Win Customer Loyalty.” Are your customers staying put, or is your company struggling with retention? Leveraging market research and gaining actionable insights could be the key to building better consumer loyalty initiatives. Sales alone might gain revenue for the company, but the objective should also be about creating customer relationships, developing brand awareness, and to keep customers coming back for repeat sales.
Looking forward to TMRE 2024? The conference, which will be held October 8 to 10, will feature the session, “The Origin and Changing Nature of Trust,” presented by Michael Nevski, Director, Global Insights at Visa. The presentation will cover the latest in consumer insights, analyzing how consumers feel about the economy and how their feelings influence consumer spending. With an increasing array of factors driving consumers’ purchase decisions, we will explore the ongoing nature of trust—how it’s established and maintained—between customers and businesses. Utilizing data from both primary and secondary sources, we will also investigate the influence of technology on customers’ trust in brands and businesses. Advancements in technology, particularly in the arena of artificial intelligence, stand to transform the relationship between brands and customers. The research will focus on potential changes and opportunities for businesses as they chart this new territory. Register for TMRE 2024 here.
Sharpening the Consumer’s Brand Perception
Understanding customer perceptions through these activities, such as brand image surveys, social listening, and focus groups remains a core part of the market researcher’s brand building tasks. Let’s not forget about measuring the overall customer experience and purchase journey, which can also help in building brand trust. Customer satisfaction surveys and usability testing might help in answering these questions. Analyze customer behavior by evaluating purchase behavior, engagement metrics and additional customer reviews and feedback. Customer journey mapping can reveal touchpoints where trust is either built or eroded.
By using these insights and research methods, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of how consumers perceive your brand’s trustworthiness. This knowledge can be used to develop and implement strategies to build trust, strengthen brand loyalty, and ultimately drive business success.
Video courtesy of The Futur
