In Brands We Trust

What constitutes a trusted brand? A well-presented brand maintains credibility with its customers in new and old markets and promises to deliver consistent performance to its customers. According to David Nowell of Nowell Enterprises, a trusted brand also symbolizes something that customers desire to belong to and maintain loyalty with. A trusted brand is unique and innovative and can adapt to local needs, wants and tastes in the market. In Gaining Trust Online, Jack Aaronson of ClickZ.com says brands must also speak a language that your audience understands without intimidating them.

Brands help to build loyalty by identifying their customers and building their profiles in great detail in order to cater to them better in the future. Knowing and understanding your customers will encourage visitors to register and learn more about what your brand represents and delivers, Nowell argues. The information collected on your individual customers helps to customize and personalize web pages for your individual customers to reflect their various tastes and interests. But remember – state loud and clear what your objectives to your customers. Nowell notes that we need to be explicit about how you will or will not use customer information in order to protect their privacy.

The NBC news site, for example, contains a mix of local and national news to appeal and cater to its various customers and provide up-to-date coverage based on the information that they provide on the Web site. Aaronson asserts that people are actually six times more likely to feel an ad is more relevant to them when it appears on an Internet Broadcasting Web site since the content is more relevant to them, which also makes them twice as likely to click on the ad. News organizations must be both personal and relevant while maintaining their professional status.

According to Nowell, the most important aspect of successful trusted brands is that they listen to what their customers have to save, not just focusing on the masses. Interacting with and involving your customers in your company’s projects provide great opportunities for your company to learn what is and is not working for them on your web site. It’s important to motivate customers to collaborate with you instead of simply watching on the sidelines.

Aaronson insists that instead of trying to appear as a large corporate conglomerate, companies should appeal to their customers more by being more approachable. Charles Schwab, for example, launched a “Talk to Chuck” campaign with an “Ask Carrie” column in order to appear more accessible to customers. This was created in order to start conversation with customers and engage them on a more personal level. This will help your company appear more authoritative, personally relevant and trustworthy.