Comments on: In Business, It’s All A Matter of Trust

By: Kim Krause Berg

Kim Krause Berg — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 01:37:36 +0000

I realized the more I’m on the Internet, the less I trust both it and the people/companies on it. How strange. Usually it’s the opposite. The longer I spend getting to know something, the more I come to trust it. However, like you said, once bitten, twice shy. I’m more that way with people than products, but the big ole world wide web just keeps blowing its chances with me, over and over again :)

By: Yawn Webmaster!

Yawn Webmaster! — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:08:40 +0000

The problem with most trust analyses done for the web, is that they start from the position that there is already an inherent trust in a new brand. And then they wonder why no-one buys from them. That’s why we see offline brands doing so well online, they bring the trust baggage with them.

So, if you’re new before you do any of the above, you need to convince the user that you are who you say you are. Suggested reading “Effects of site, vendor, and consumer characteristics on website trust and disclosure”. The trust seals might work, but they are pretty rubbish too, quite a number have nothing in place to protect the user (customers) in case of problems, and that is going to destroy any trust yo’u've built if some customer discovers this because there’s been a problem.

We’re also talking about personal ethics, and the extent to which you will sell out. It’s very complicated because personal ethics draws on so many rationalities but it’s something I will be tackling.

By: Alan Bleiweiss

Alan Bleiweiss — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:36:02 +0000

Lisa,
Even though you included a link in your article to @Graywolf’s article, you failed to disclose that it’s a paid link. I mean, it’s not cash – he pays you by ragging on you all the time. Does that count?

On a less serious note, it’s tough maintaining integrity in life and in business. There are countless unanticipated turns and twists along the way that can make it near impossible to maintain 100% of the time.

Yet if I do my very best, and I am completely OPEN and HONEST about my own shortcomings when they occur, that counts for a lot. And in some areas there just needs to be a line in the sands of trust that will never intentionally be crossed.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:41:56 +0000

Agreed. It seems like I lose total interest so quickly as soon as that trust factor comes into consideration. Some companies/organizations it doesn’t bother me, because I assume the worst from them. Those that are fully immersed in social media and all of that interaction that is involved. You go from cool to creepy quick in my book.

By: john andrews

john andrews — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:41:21 +0000

News flash! The media has lost it’s integrity! Alert the media! Oh.. waitasec… that won’t work.

Trust is a hot topic these days. I wrote about trust yesterday as well.. related to Hitwise search marketing services.

Today I saw a video blogger rant about the crappy service he had received at a restaurant, before praising the CEO for having seen his complaint tweet yesterday and sending him a “please come back” email this morning. In other words, he tweeted that they sucked, they replied immediately to try and resolve the issue, and he video blogged about THAT as a positive thing (prefaced with a summary update about how horrible their service was when he visited). Did that work?

They traded a fleeting tweet for a memorial video blog post. They trusted him in this case… and I bet he still thinks he did good by praising their Social Media prowess.

Trust Signals to Look for When Dealing With Social Media Icons:

Read their past blog posts to see if they complain to get attention. if so, they want attention. Keep that in mind.
Profile them in general, to better understand the mindset. No sense feeding a troll or poking a lunatic with a stick.
Email and ask for a phone call to discuss the sensitive bits. It works.
Who are their friends? It’s easy to check (Facebook, etc) and might be easier to reach out to a friend of a friend who can offer the mouth some free advice on your behalf.

I’ve got a copy of the influence game around here somewhere….

By: Lisa Barone

Lisa Barone — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:35:23 +0000

Meg: I think I do remember seeing that survey back at the end of the year. With less than 40 pecent of people saying they trust online news content, I’m not sure I’d classify that as “highly trusted”. :) But you’re definitely right, as TechCrunch starts to blur the line between editorial and advertorial, they’re going to lose trust. They already are. I don’t go there for news. I go there now to read Paul Carr and to see who’s rubbing Sarah’s back today.

By: Meg

Meg — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:05:33 +0000

Great post! I agree with what you are saying. Did you see the Forrester Research survey about the sources that people trust the most/least. Right now online content sites, like TechCrunch, are still highly trusted sources of information. But as sites like this continue sell out I can see that trust diminishing. The link to the survey is in the first sentence of this blog post. I would love to know your thoughts. http://wunderkindpr.com/blog/?p=203