Trust is critical in business
We hear and see a lot of “greenwashing” these days. The same is true of “charity washing.” Both use the same actions to promote a high standard and value. But in practice, the actual good deed is measured and typically minor, the goal being legally correct in order to promote the brand rather than in accomplishing the originally intended goal of making a difference.
This type of behavior may produce short-term benefits. However, the risk of being found out brings a heavy consequence. At best, it erodes trust and brand equity and, most of the time, it completely obliterates it.
The question “What is the definition of trust?” was raised during a conversation with a business mentor. The outcome was: “Trust is an expectation held by an individual or a group that the word, promise, verbal or written statement of another individual or group can be relied on.” Further, we agreed that when someone consistently acts in bad faith, we can trust them to do so again.
Our takeaway was boiled down to this: “Pay attention to what a person or group does, not what they say. If their actions follow their words and commitments, that serves to build trust with you in a positive way.”
Who really cares about all of this? Well, if you own a business, then you should. It is the foundation of your brand and will determine the level of your success, what type of customers you will attract, how many and how much they will spend with your company.
If you are wondering how this might look in the “real world,” well, here is a current example. The city of Arcata has designated a specific area of the city to be developed with a pre-designated plan. It is called the Gateway Area Plan and, among other things, calls for high-density housing, to be accomplished with multi-storied buildings. Another aspect of this plan is to allow for minimal vehicle accommodations such as parking. The intentions of the plan are very good and most of the city’s “customers,” their constituents, are supportive and in agreement that we need to provide housing and encourage non-vehicular transportation.
The rub is that the details of the plan have not been flushed out and the plan allows for developers to fast-track through the planning process as long as they adhere to the prescribed requirements, again, many that have not been detailed. This has caused a large number of constituents to push back against this plan. The city has done a lot to inform and provide for input from their “customers” without much benefit for the city’s efforts.
Without getting into the emotion and opinion of this plan, let’s look at what the underlying issues might be. I propose the city has a trust issue. Its “customers” have expectations of how this or any other plan should be developed, based on past actions; the current behaviors are not following the past consistent actions, creating a break in trust.
This leads to many things. In your business, it means you lose customers; or the type of customer willing to do business with you will change. The values you have built your company on no longer create goodwill. Your brand is no longer seen as high quality and is no longer desired. This thing called trust is fragile and very important to you, your business and the value of your brand. It greatly influences your business’ success. You may want to pay attention.