Trust – Is There a Motivation in an Uncertain World?

By Chris Pace

Whether in personal interactions or matters of your business, trust is the substance by which all things are connected. It is the binding agent of the relationships you’re either building or eroding. Make no mistake, there is no neutral trust; you’re either strengthening it or diluting it… every day, and with every interaction.

That said, let’s examine what influences that very precious dynamic through the business lens. I certainly won’t pretend to know or guide your personal trustworthy interactions. Just to set the stage, please take a moment to view the following – very impactful – video featuring Rachel Botsman. I think her presentation illustrates the nature and evolution of trust in a very poignant way.  

 Botsman takes us on a comprehensive journey through the evolution of trust: from localtrust built on accountability and reputation, to institutional trust based on contracts and compromises, to our current environment of distributive trust. The last one,distributive trust, is essentially a hybrid form of the prior two trust stages. This stage brings to the forefront our digital tools and considers the impact of our cumulative experience, augmenting our local interactions on a grand scale of technological reputation and personal narrative.

So, let us break that down… what does that really mean?

The trust standard

To me, I think it means that we need to consider our everyday interactions as a signifier of future performance. From a consumer standpoint – how we are supporting their business today is the fundamental factor driving the business forward with a consumer or dooming it towards failure. And why shouldn’t that be the case? There are so many options in business today, if one institution is not willing to take care of the customer, they can certainly find someone who will. Consider all the hotel choices, types of car, or more simply… a pair of shoes. How pointed Interest in a purchase is initially treated will undoubtedly set the trust standard and ultimately determine how trust shifts or doesn’t – which is usually when a sale or purchase is made.

Trust shifts

What causes trust to shift in a business environment? If we can agree that a shift is where business is lost and reputation is blemished, we should probably analyze what it takes to support maintaining control of that trust. Here are some examples of moments or actions that detract from trust:

Engagement is Superficial. If we are not actively listening and genuinely committed to a customer’s buying experience, we can count on them getting the hint, disengaging and likely going somewhere else to make their purchase.

Breach of Integrity. Simple stuff here… do what you say, say what you do. In today’s world, flooded with information, it has become commonplace to own what you don’t know so long as you’re willing to research the correct info and support your customer. Additionally, don’t be afraid to under-promise and over-deliver. This phenomenon stands at the very heart of the trust compact because it sets real expectations which almost always protects against disappointment and irritation. Consider also, when external factors affect the transaction, at least the complication was clearly out of your hands which helps salvage the transaction (and relationship) in most cases.

Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. Still related to integrity, this is often the differentiator in the modern customer experience. Are you providing timely follow-up, communicating updates, and most importantly… following up after the sale to ensure satisfaction and ask for the next sale!?

Proactive Sales. Currently, it is easy to expect that people will come to us, but, the biggest aggregator of sales opportunity is simply going out and getting it. Is your team picking up the phone, networking efficiently, meeting with top clients to analyze past/future business, and staying relevant in the marketplace? If you are, great! If not, you might re-address your sales strategy to include this proactive movement. And this goes for your current clientele too. Remember, your top customer is someone else’s top prospect so don’t forget to thank your current client base for their business and ask for tips on how to deepen the support for their business.

While all of this may sound simple enough to execute (and you may be doing most or all of this), the question still remains… how do you expand your trust network to build your business even bigger? Consider Botsman’s commentary regarding business publicity. Most businesses that thrive in an environment of distributive trust maintain channels of advertisement that allow former clients to rave about their experiences and even – in some cases – a rating system.

Let’s consider some current options for driving positive publicity for your business:

Social Networking. How is your business leveraging the high-quality experiences of your current customers so that their testimony resonates with people in their network? Are you encouraging folks (and providing the tools) for folks to post photos or narratives about their positive experiences? How are you empowering your raving fans to tell the world how great you are so you can leverage secondary and tertiary trust circles to grow your business?

Ratings. Do you keep an active rating system, either internal and/or external, to reward and recognize high-quality sales experiences to reward the folks driving your business forward? Do you encourage new clients to cherry-pick from the best of the best to drive recognition and acclaim not just for your specific high performers, but also for your brand?

Referrals. How does your business reward loyalty? Is it a simple thank you or are you incentivizing customers to tell the world about their experience and benefit personally from those efforts? Think of most major companies in business today; what are they doing to get you to be an advocate for their product? Is it a rebate on referral purchases, bonus points towards your next purchase, or even a free upgrade when you post and share on social media… see how this is all coming together.

To sum it all up

In the chaos of the modern world with its infinite possibilities for purchases and experiences, consider the words of Rachel Botsman when putting together your next strategy. When you really think about it, almost every collaborative success throughout history has been founded on trust between parties searching for the most beneficial outcome for each other. Conversely, when you consider the biggest collaborative failures, you’ll see a complete breach of trust where one party is simply trying to ‘get one over’ on the other person.

Whether it’s a personal life choice or your next big business idea, if you build that framework using trust as the glue, even when the structure shakes – and it will – you’ll be in good shape when the chaos settles and you’re able to refocus and keep forging ahead.

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