WJR Business Beat: Brand Image and Trust Are No. 1 To Consumers (Episode 357)

Good morning, Paul! As small business owners, we’re all scrapping and climbing to beat our competition and when the next great customer and/or make that critically important next sale. But one way to help you do just that seems to get overlooked too many times and it’s a huge missed opportunity. Focus on building a stronger brand image in order to gain more brand trust and that will lead not only do you winning new customers in their first-time purchases, but also to current customers re-engaging and spending more with you. According to a study just released from Havas CX, brand image and brand trust are now the most decisive factor in how customers define their experience with a given company. In fact, 46% of U.S. consumers say that this is number one, ranking even higher than customer service, for example, which had only one-third as many votes. We’ve said it previously on the Business Beat, brand essence, authenticity and relatability mattered more today in this post-pandemic era than ever before so much so that 56% of U.S. consumers are now rating brands by emotional factors rather than functional criteria. And now just to wrap things up, Paul, just for fun, here’s the list that consumers felt had the most powerful brand image and trust factors. High on the list: Costco, Charles Schwab and Michelin, for example. But the top three: Hilton, then Toyota at No. 2 and, at No. 1, it’s the consumer pet retailer Chewy. So there you have it, want your business to do more business? Focus on establishing your key core brand attributes. And make them known across all campaigns and platforms. Now, most importantly, to achieve that brand trust, make sure you focus on consistency and authenticity when presenting your brand and its attributes. I’m Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of startupnation.com, and that’s today’s Business Beat and the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR.