Study: Trust, a Prerequisite in Mobile, Social Branding
Connected consumers are rather suspicious consumers: They actively sort and prioritize brand information by trust, finds an About.com/Latitude study called “The Trust Factor,” and fully 84% of consumers surveyed reported they will not engage with a brand at all until trust has been established.
“Trust is…a prerequisite for consumers to even enter the purchase funnel,” said Laura Salant, director, research, About.com. “By understanding how consumers view trust and what they value most, marketers can tailor their outreach to deliver meaningful information and tools to create authentic, long-lasting relationships.”
So what will consumers look for? The researchers identified several key elements for developing consumer trust, none of which will be a surprise. Six of those key elements are expertise; fairness; relevance; choice; relatability; and awareness, which goes beyond sheer name recognition. Consumers rely on awareness driven by personal experiences or recommendations from a friend.
Trust More Important On Social, Mobile Platforms
Respondents reported that the trust elements are even more important on mobile than online. Format was identified by 71% of respondents as being more important for mobile, with accuracy and expertise also ranking highly.
In social media, consumers are ambivalent about the value of certain commonly-used social actions such as “likes.” Reviews were identified as inspiring trust twice as much as general “likes,” though seeing a “like” or recommendation from a friend increased the trust value of that action.
Video works best to enhance trust when it is combined with other types of content. 56% of respondents agreed that video builds trust when it adds illustration or explanation attached to other types of content.
Consumers Want Value Before The Sale
According to the study, consumers prefer to combine information from a variety of sources, with 82% of respondents reporting that they use information from brands, content, ads and social media to create custom solutions for what they need.
Tracy Raiser, senior vice president of sales for About.com, said “Marketers can proactively coordinate their efforts with other trusted sources—whether it be content, social elements or word of mouth—to make sure their campaigns are adding value to the consumer’s experience.”
You read that right: Value during the sales cycle. Based on its findings, the researchers recommended several best practices for building trust, all based on the tenet of treating consumers as partners, not customers, even steering them away from a sale if that’s the best decision. Other best practices:
Acknowledge and respect consumers’ processes for evaluating and making decisions. 85% trust brands that walk them through multiple paths to decisions, rather than just giving an answer.
Support consumers after they purchase. The relationship shouldn’t end with a credit card. 62% of consumers trust brands that provide information and tools to help them use products they have purchased.
Demonstrate an understanding that consumers’ lives change. 83% trust brands that offer resources every step of the way, as a consumer’s needs evolve.
Build engagement by using every opportunity to solve consumers’ large and small challenges. 85% trust brands that use ads or sponsored content to inform or help them with a need.
About.com and Latitude surveyed a national sample of 1,500+ American consumers aged 18 and older for this study.
