Three Strategies to Use Brand Purpose to Build Trust in the Customer Experience

Research has found that 90% of Millennials will buy from a brand when they trust its’ environmental, social or business practices; 95% will recommend the products. Faced with this new mindset, brand stewards need to engage consumers differently —first by building trust – step one in the quest to become a purpose-led brand.

Today’s post is by Piers Fawkes, founder of PSFK.

Consumers increasingly seek brands that align with their values as they relate to social and environmental impact. Research has found that 90% of millennials will buy from a brand when they trust its’ environmental, social or business practices; 95% will recommend the products. Faced with this new mindset, brand stewards need to engage consumers differently —first by building trust – step one in the quest to become a purpose-led brand.

To love your brand and its products, consumers first need to know what goes into it and what it stands for. Share the process behind your products and services to connect directly with consumers who value ethics, craftsmanship and quality. Ensure a standard of authenticity and transparency in all communications to build brand trust.

Grounding the customer experience in trust can take a few forms: committing to being a force for good by exposing consumers to change-making initiatives and inspirational content; delivering transparency by being upfront about production, pricing and policies; and giving access to platforms that empower them to make smarter decisions. Examples of companies following these tenets include:

Align the Mission

Brands can commit to being a force for good, exposing consumers to change-making initiatives and inspirational content by leveraging curiosity-provoking, socially- conscious narratives alongside compelling entertainment to foster deeper relationships with consumers. By aligning the company mission with brand purpose and creating awareness, brands can plan an initiative and set long-term goals that seek to solve a global issue that resonates with a like-minded consumer base.

Healthy snack brand Kind’s social impact program, Empatico, helps students in elementary schools connect with students outside of their community. Empatico is a video-conferencing and digital learning platform that creates interactive lesson plans used by schools across America to expand students’ understanding of differing cultures and social norms.

Ensure end-to-end Transparency

Starbucks introduced a blockchain-powered program that traces the production of coffee from bean to cup. The initiative extends Starbucks’ transparency and eco-friendly initiatives, gives coffee farmers more financial independence, and provides customers an opportunity to learn about the brewing process. Coffee farmers in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Rwanda can share real-time data about their coffee and its journey from farms to consumers’ cup.

Interestingly, even employees want the companies they work for to be more transparent. A PSFK Customer Experience Survey 2018, the result of which are featured in PSFK’s 2018 CX Playbook, discovered that 62% of employees believe that the companies they work for should be more transparent about their business practices.

Offer Digital Agency

Google updated its security dashboard creating a one-stop shop for users to check and change their privacy settings. Users can choose to opt out of personalized ads, and see which third-party services have access to their data. The dashboard features a “My Activity” tab that allows users to check on past actions on Google services like Search, Maps, YouTube, and “Google Takeout.”

Apple is also leaning heavily into empowering its customers to manage their own data. Their data and privacy tools give users options to view, edit and even delete information stored in their Apple ID. Customers also have more options around downloading, correcting, and deactivating the use of personal data held by the company.

With 89% of consumers saying they avoid companies that they don’t believe protect their privacy, brands can no longer simply turn a blind eye.

To win over today’s conscious consumers, brands need to prove that they are acting in their customers’ and community’s best interests —especially in a competitive marketplace where 89% of consumers are loyal to brands that share their values.

Piers Fawkes is the founder and president of business intelligence service PSFK and has authored many reports on trending topics in industry verticals.  PSFK is a New York City-based business intelligence service that provides subscribers insights into retail and customer experience innovation through reports, newsletters, events and research services.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!