If you had to guess, how many customers take into account how well they feel their personal information will be protected when making a purchase? McKinsey has done the research, and they put the number at 85%.
Data protection is just one component of what’s being called Digital Trust. Also included in this suite of customer expectations: are cybersecurity, trustworthy AI-powered products & services, and transparency surrounding AI and data usage.
Every Function Plays a Role in Creating a Trustworthy Brand
Let’s say you want your brand to be perceived as highly trustworthy. What’s involved in making that happen? Often, you’ll hear conversations focused on storytelling and the impactful nature of superior customer service. At the same time, the more nuts and bolts issues that go into running the organization each and every day are only discussed within their respective silos – IT being perhaps the prime example, with HR and purchasing following close behind.
When we don’t tell the stories of what happens within these siloed departments, we’re losing opportunities to build trust with our customers. The infrastructure of our organizations is critical to building and keeping customer trust. It’s worth considering how to include this in brand messaging effectively.
What the McKinsey study points to – I’d encourage you to read the entire piece, it’s quite excellent – is how IT issues, in particular, deserve a central role in organization-wide conversations about building trust and love with the consumer. As the public develops an increasingly sophisticated understanding of data and AI, it will be more and more important for brands to be very transparent about what they’re doing.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.