In business, you want customers who will stick to your brand not because they are blind fanatics, but because they truly believe in what you offer, and trust your name more than they trust the competition. This is why, in the age of alternative facts, promoting truth in brand development has become so much more important than ever.
But what does it mean to be truthful in conceptualizing and promoting your brand? This article discusses that, and more.
Being truthful means depicting your company and your products and services based on what you can actually deliver. That might sound antithetical to the essence of marketing as practiced by many, but it will pay off, in the end.
When a company is truthful, it is simply doing the right thing. It will be able to avoid lawsuits, especially in a country like the United States, where consumers are very empowered and aware of their rights. It is something that our Constitution provides for, after all: They should be able to demand as much as you promised them you will.
This means that you should devote significant resources towards superior product development and customer service. You should regularly evaluate the quality of your offerings so that you fulfill what your advertising materials say about them. Be able to answer such questions as: How long can my product last? Or, how much is it really going to cost the customer to avail of a service package? Do we have available facilities and personnel to deliver on the terms of my return, exchange, or repair policy?
You should also listen to customer feedback, and integrate these information in your marketing materials. For instance, it may be the case that you have your own claims about your products that are not felt by the customers.
Furthermore, it serves to manage the expectations of your customers. As they say, the key to satisfying customers is to under-promise, and over-deliver. Through your promotional materials, you want them to have a taste of what you can offer. Going back to the goal of building trust in your brand, managing expectations is a crucial aspect of nurturing this relationship, and overtime, of the trust between the company and the customers. And when you have become a trustworthy, reliable brand in their book, customers will become your automatic endorsers, promoting your brand by word of mouth.
To learn more about brand development, talk to us here at GBX Digital.