Brand behaviour and the value of consumer trust

Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, forever to repair

Brands ‘doing the right thing’ has gradually over the years become an increasing factor in consumer brand perceptions and considerations, and never more so than throughout the pandemic. From the premiership football clubs using public funds to furlough non-playing staff, to airlines demanding crew take unpaid leave and taking multi-million pound government bailouts, there has been a number of high profile examples of brands arguably not doing the right thing in the eyes of the public and actions at odds with their promoted identities.   

On a local level, businesses who have failed to acknowledge the financial and health challenges faced by consumers and their staff have also fared poorly with people vocally sharing their disappointment online or to friends and family via the obligatory zoom call.  

From ethical and sustainable practices, to societal issues around diversity and inclusion, brand values and their subsequent implementation has never been so heavily scrutinised. Virtue signalling has been called out when brands look like they are being disingenuous and jumping on topical issues in their campaigns with no substance or little relevance to their customers, their offer or brand positioning. The recent Black Lives Matter movement has seen a number of brands questioned over their stance given their actions. One high profile example is the global online clothing brand, Boohoo. Visibly and vocally they posted their pledge to ‘do better’ and stand with black and ethic minorities. However, a few weeks later, the brand was exposed in a modern slavery scandal involving poorly treated and underpaid factory workers in Leicester, many from the BAME communities they had previously said they would support. The company experienced a plummet in share value and many distributors said they would be stopping supplying the clothing brand until an investigation was complete.

Conversely consumers have been watching in awe at brands who have been proactive and responsive to the changing situations. From the Burberry’s and Dyson’s pivoting production focus, to the reassuring advertising creatives quickly devised by supermarkets and food manufacturers who acknowledged the life of lockdown, the agility of some organisations really stood them apart as brand leaders.

Nationwide’s rapid response the pandemic saw dedicated opening times for vulnerable groups established and their stance on paying back Government bailouts have shown them to be ‘On your side’ as their brand promise states.

WPP health care and Churchill car insurance proactively contacted customers to say they would be passing on savings generated from the lockdown with automatic credits to accounts and Morrisons introduced guarantees on sick pay and payment promises to SME suppliers. 

For those brands who have stayed true to their promise they look set to reap the rewards of trust and loyalty that could last years.

However, for those who were slow to respond to their customers changing demands and circumstances, showed lack of awareness, empathy and profit focused, they stood out for all the wrong reasons. 

In a recent report from Elderman, 71% of respondents said that if they perceived a brand putting profit before people, they would lose trust in the brand forever.

Ryanair’s new CMO, Kenny Jacobs has said recently in an interview with Marketing Week, his focus is building consumer trust in the brand, with emphasis on price and performance. The issue with this, is that you can try, but ultimately you can’t control how customers perceive your brand. Although Ryanair leads on price, it is one of those brands you can imagine selling their metaphorical grandma to make a quick buck. It is that lack of trust perceived by consumers that makes paying a bit extra to a competitor a fair compromise given the choice. Jacobs will be implementing a campaign for the airline brand centred around ‘Always getting better’ which gives a sense of hope that the business is interested in listening and learning from consumers, but only time will tell if that will really fly.

As marketing consultants working with a variety of SME’s on their marketing and brand strategies, we have direct experience on the value of consumer engagement. You can read my previous blogs on the importance of research and the value of believing in your brand when it comes to building consumer trust.