How Are Trust And Oxygen Related?
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011With an old friend and partner of mine used to comment that trust was like oxygen. The meaning is when either one leaves the room, people suffocate.
Trust is becoming more and more important in business today. It is generally connected with the ease of information gathering.
Over the last several years the Internet has become a more reliable source for information than the traditional news media. This means individuals can get high quality information from the Internet easier and more reliably than they can from television, radio or printed publications.
When asked “where do you go for news about a company” almost half responded they use online search engines or online news sources. Newspapers, magazines and TV were distant alternative choices.
Bottom line is that no company can rely on controlling information, protecting their brand, keeping a low profile nad focusing on profits.
Regardless of their desire to hide from view the Internet makes this impossible.
Now companies need to maintain a high level of transparency, focus on an engagement with their environment, and have a clear purpose behind their profit-making.
Maintaining a high level of trust with everyone is essential. Recent statistics show while it may take 5 to 7 messages to get a prospect to believe and take action, it will only take one or two pieces of negative information for a customer to cease doing business with a distrusted enterprise.
