“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
Charles Spurgeon
The world has a problem trusting. Fake news and normally trustworthy institutions are letting people down globally. Even the former tech stars have betrayed our trust and failed to protect our data. This has led to a dilemma for people, who should we trust? who will cover our back?
Normally we have relied on the media to keep the world straight, but somehow they are powerless to stop the spread of fake news.
So there seems to be a global trust crisis, whom should we trust? The answer is people who are not trying to sell us something. We trust doctors and teachers and individuals whose job it is to help us.
Brand Storytelling And Trustworthiness
What has all this got to do with brand storytelling? The answer is everything. In a world where trust is becoming a scarce commodity brands need to demonstrate they are trustworthy. To put it bluntly, are they part of the problem or are they the solution.
Ask yourself if your customers consider your brand trustworthy and are they right to think this. When you tell your brand story is it credible and does it accurately reflect your brand values? Is this a once off occurrence or is it the case for every brand story you tell. To be trustworthy a brand story needs to be consistent every single time.
Every time you tell a brand story remember your audience is taking a risk trusting in you and they only do so because they consider the risk worth taking. Disappoint them on only one occasion and they will never take that risk again.
What Is Trust Based On
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.”
George MacDonald
It is all about being honest and transparent and as mentioned earlier being consistent. Tell a brand story that provides a genuine customer solution with no hidden caveats. Be upfront with your brand storytelling and back this up by being a brand who values your customers trust and does nothing to jeopardize this relationship. Evaluate your brand honestly and actively look for areas that could provide instances of a violation of customer trust. Using your brand storytelling to highlight potential problem found in a clear and transparent way. Everyone makes mistakes it is how you handle them that counts and makes people consider your brand trustworthy.