T and T is dynamite
In our way of looking at marketing, the combination of trust and transactions is the powerful formula for igniting brand relationships. But because trust and transactions can have different meanings, let's start by defining each word. The word "transactions" refers to the amount of money a consumer spends on a particular brand relative to what might make sense for a person to spend in that category.
At imc², we define "trust" as having three progressively complex components. The level of trust in a consumer-brand relationship stems from the consumer's perspective on the following topics:
- Credibility: Does the brand deliver on its promises?
- Care: Does the brand understand my needs?
- Congruency: Does the brand resonate with my values?
Here's how everything connects back to the three eras of marketing:
- Product Era: The focus is solely on transactions.
- Consumer Era: The focus is still on transactions, but the idea of trust enters the dialogue as a way to persuade people to transact more.
- Relationship Era: Trust between a brand and consumer is mutual. Trust and transactions are seen as distinct, and both are important.
The distinction between the role of trust in the Consumer and Relationship Eras is important. In the Consumer Era, trust was seen as a means to achieve an end, namely a consumer buying more. It's a manipulation.
The shift from the Consumer Era to the Relationship Era is a fundamental one -- beyond a shift in communication, advertising CPM models, or measurement tools. It's an entirely new way to think about and practice marketing.
An entire industry kicked to the curb?
Well, not exactly, but the old model is failing.
The traditional tools of mass marketing are clearly no longer working, nor is using a variety of channels with the same campaign-driven persuasion techniques. A lot of brands are throwing good money after bad, attempting to influence consumers to buy more, with less to show for it.
But it's no longer the marketer's role to run campaign after campaign to persuade and drive transactions. Effective marketers now participate in and nurture an ecosystem of touch points with people, building trust with customers that align with the brand values. This new landscape includes digital, emerging, and more traditional media to allow people to cozy up to brands on their terms.
In this marketing environment -- the Relationship Era -- persuasion is less effective. Trust can't be used as a tool, and it can't be ginned up or manufactured. Instead, successful marketers foster trust as a fundamental, essential, and independent pillar of sustainable brand/customer relationships. It's an organic outgrowth that reflects the strength of an authentic relationship.
Breaking through
So, an inquisitive marketer might ask, "How do brands win in the Relationship Era?" Because the times are a changin', we believe there will be a dramatic reorientation of the competitive environment in many industries, and some brands will win big. Are you ready to start creating something better for your brand and your stakeholders? Good. It will take some work, but the rewards are definitely worth it. In the new approach, the challenge is breaking from marketing's past and embracing something different. The heavy-lifting is mostly related to changing mindsets -- yours and those of the people in your organization -- and figuring out how to translate your purpose into meaningful action that truly connects with people.
Here are five principles for breakthrough success in the Relationship Era, based on ideas that we're exploring with our clients.
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