Trust based Marketing

TRUST-BASED MARKETING

Marketing is the magnet which attracts consumer to the product that is marketed. Stronger this force of attraction the more is this force of attraction and retention power of consumers. And to retain customers, it is important that they are motivated to stick to the product’s brand. Below chain highlights yet another advantage of strong force of attraction which passes on to other customers through what we call “Word-of-mouth-marketing”.

Trust is the force which binds people in any kind of relationship be it in family, friends or society. Same when applied to marketing binds customer to the brand to be marketed. This not only helps in retaining the customer but also motivates customer to spread the word. Hence it becomes a win-win situation for both seller and customer.

If you expect loyalty from customer, you must be a loyal marketer and that’s what trust based marketing is all about.

Highlighting pros of a product gives customers clarity on whether the product meets their expectations. But throwing light on cons seems to be a risky affair for marketers especially when the investment in advertising is as huge say around 25% considering a new product. Usually linear regression is used to check the impact of advertisement on increment in sales. Communicating cons upfront can bring a positive impact on customers based on their perception of customer. It can either be perceived as honesty of brand or as failure of brand.

Marketing strategy of a company goes closely with core values of the company. A switch from push to pull strategy, routine sales to customer relationship management & customer satisfaction to customer delight, reflects a change in core values of organisations. Keeping customer’s interest ahead of the organisation's interest is the main driver of these strategies. Highlighting cons of a product shows this behaviour and ensures transparency.

With decreasing interests of customers in TV advertisements mainly endorsed by celebrities, many advertisers have started using common individuals expressing their opinion on the product in the advertisement. For example, Colgate has indulged in various advertising strategies like celebrity endorsement, endorsements by doctors and by mothers – mostly common users. Better impact was observed when advertisements showed doctors recommend Colgate as no.1 toothpaste brand and mothers when they showed concern for their children’s teeth. 

Above impact of various ads shows that trust is an important factor on which relationship between consumers and the brand can sustain. Hence focus needs to be shifted from making flashy ads with lot of graphic effects and celebrity endorsements to elements which can strengthen the trust of consumers.

Hence trust-based marketing practices and involvement of general users in ads need to gain momentum which can in-turn cascade to sales figures.