“Trust” is a relatively small word. But it’s one of the two most important words in the customer dictionary. The other is “respect”.
Today, more than ever before, trust is the vital cog that helps a sales team build and maintain a relationship with the people who buy your products.
Companies have traditionally used marketing and public relations as their two primary channels to engage with the UK’s great buying public.
But things have got a lot harder for marketers and communicators in recent years, thanks to the phenomenal growth of social media – particularly Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.
Knowing how to exploit these new channels is a critical priority for any business that wishes to create a successful customer engagement strategy.
My own view is it’s important each of these channels is used in a distinct and sympathetic way – enabling the ultimate engagement message to stay interesting and appealing.
We see this approach in practice every day: blue chip brands using viral marketing techniques – some controversial, many funny – to spearhead product launches into markets where the average customer is aged below 35. Car manufacturers have been very successful in this respect; so have many of the drinks companies.
These brands have resonated with younger, increasingly discerning audiences. Why? Because they have looked at things from a customer perspective – and communicated the benefits in a language everyone can easily understand.
Traditional advertising also has its place – but, increasingly, its purpose is to build the brand. In other words it’s about looking good and being seen to say the right things!
This approach, in isolation, isn’t enough for real trust to be generated. It might turn on investors and shareholders, but it doesn’t float the boats of most people. It needs to be part of a broader marketing strategy.
So, too, does PR, which is arguably still the most powerful way of creating trust with large audiences. Richard Branson has used PR to very good use all his working life. More recently, Alan Sugar has also embarked on a charm offensive and won the day.
Their key ingredient: they both say it how they see it – good, bad or indifferent! Messrs Branson and Sugar are perceived to be people who tell the truth all of the time. As a result, the Virgin and Viglen brands are flying high.
But good PR is more than just having a good individual who’s happy to stand in front of a TV camera, or radio microphone. It’s about ensuring every aspect of an organisation gets its PR right, from sales personnel through to customer service staff, and from the CEO to the night watchman. In this regard it’s quite simple really: just talk to people in a way you would expect to be spoken to yourself.
It’s a pretty basic requirement, but you’ll be amazed at just how many people and organisations forget this simple tenet.
The final ingredient in the customer engagement mix is patience. Gaining the trust of the public doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time.
So many organisations are derailed because the CEO or chairman becomes disillusioned with a marketing or PR strategy simply because they’re not yielding instant results. The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” springs to mind.
And it’s very appropriate, for when you’re competing to win the trust of a customer, the only things you can be sure of is that it will take time; you will need to roll your sleeves up; there will be some bumps along the way; and you’ll have to manage the process with conviction.
Good luck…
• This article was published in the July edition of Customer Experience Magazine