This is my lame picture from the back of the room of the AMA's Strategic Marketing Conference today in Boston. You can't tell, but that is Larry Light, CEO of Arcature and former CMO of McDonald's standing at the podium (trust me). He's talking this morning about how to build sustainable trust with our customers and consumers.
Although a bit preachy and simplistic at times, Larry demonstrated a strong speaking style, a true passion for the topic and a well-thought-out and visually pleasing presentation. He also provided a nice framework of 10 elements that marketers should follow to generate sustainable trust. They were:
- Stand up for what you stand for (ex. Chipotle)
- Promise what you intend to deliver and deliver what you promise
- Provide extraordinary guarantees - keep it simple and straightforward (ex. LL Bean)
- Simplify choice complexity - we live in an overchoiced world (See Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice)
- Be a trusted information source
- Educate consumers - competency breeds comfort (ex. Home Depot)
- Be open and tranparent
- Be responsive and responsible
- Don't spectate, collaborate. Collaboration is better than confrontation.
- Support causes
Larry opened by making the case for the importance of trust in marketing - although I think few would have argued that importance. Nonetheless, his argument was strong and well documented and his recommendations for how to build trust were solid takeaways that listeners will be able to selectively apply to their businesses as they are appropriate.
Larry closed his session with the idea that there are some bad folks out there who are pursuing short term gains at the expense of long term trust. These 'trust-busters' as Larry called them are the bain of the marketing world and threaten all around them. One of those points where he got a bit preachy - but the point is well taken.
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