Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Won't get fooled again


Arguably one of the best songs from the British rock group "The Who"...."won't get fooled again" seems to be a theme in our world today. From people that are tired of the hypocrisy in the church, to people that are weary of big lending institutions and Wall Street, from folks that just can’t believe what politicians have to say, to folks who keep big business at arms length. Trust is a commodity in short supply. 

Last week, in discussions with a new client, stories of broken promises and inconsistent service from their previous marketing agency poured out. On a scale of 1 – 10, their trust level for our industry was a pretty small number. Without verbalizing it, this client was saying, “we won’t get fooled again.” So our journey with this client might be slightly uphill, but it’ll also be an opportunity to grow their trust again and redefine their perspective on our industry.

Like every other industry and business that is faced with heightened consumer/public skepticism, the goal of trust will not be realized over night. It will take some time and once achieved, should not be mishandled.


If you have a product or a service, what are you doing to grow the trust of new and existing customers? How has your marketing changed to reflect your efforts?