by Manu Parashar
Insight is very broadly defined, in behavioural terms, as “why people do what they do”. This definition is not of much help in reality; it is too broad and covers even mundane explanations for exhibited behaviour that may be widely known and hence may bestow no competitive advantage. The whole issue is about finding something that is unique (no one else has spotted it), deep (something that generates a deep emotional response form people), extendable (can connect with a large number of people) and full of possibility (a whole range of ideas can be developed).
What one is looking for is a “point of vulnerability” — an explanation of exhibited behaviour that provides a significant leverage that can move the consumer base.
Consumer Insight can then be defined as “a point of vulnerability” in the consumer’s psyche.
Trust is defined as the willingness to be vulnerable. So if the consumer trusts the brand for a set of reasons then this trust can play a much stronger role than consumer insight. This is because trust makes the consumer willing to be vulnerable to what the brand promises. Consumers when they consider brands trustworthy are willing to ascribe good intentions to them. The goodwill that trustworthy brands enjoy is substantial. This comes from the reliability perception that such brands enjoy. Trust has multiple dimensions and each of these dimensions affects the trustworthiness of the brand.
DIMENSIONS OF TRUST
Trust has multiple dimensions and each of these dimensions affects the trustworthiness of the brand. These have to do with competence, behaviour and emotion. (See figure 1)
Competence Dimension: This forms the base of any trusting relationship. A brand needs to have a set of functional characteristics that make it functionally effective for a consumer. There are certain functional basics that a brand has to be trustworthy on. If there is a certain trust based on competence, then there is a good chance that the consumer will make the brand a part of his consideration set at least in functional terms.
Behavioural Dimension: Trust also develops from consistent behaviour. If a brand behaves consistently and fulfils its promises over a period of time, then it becomes trustworthy to the consumer. This dimension develops on the base of the competence dimension.
Affective Dimension: Here the trustee (consumer) has an element of attachment to or an emotional bond with the trustor (brand). It is the degree to which the trustor is believed to want to do good to the trustee. This is an emotion-based dimension and it provides emotional security to the consumer. It is the most difficult to develop and it develops on a base of competence and behaviour based trust.
The three dimensions of trust form a vulnerability prism. As the consumer moves up from purely competence based trust towards the brand to affect based trust her willingness to be vulnerable goes up. This can be an advantageous position for the brand purely because this would affect the attitude a consumer has towards the brand which in turn will affect the brand’s status in the marketplace. To develop this trust it is important to understand the factors that lead to the development of this trust. Once these factors are known marketers can leverage these factors to build trust.
ANTECEDENTS OF TRUST
There are two sources of brand trust. Brands are an important part of popular culture. There is a continuous construction of societal reputation for a brand. This happens at the level of popular culture. The constituents of this societal reputation are the myths, stories, word of mouth anecdotes that circulate about the brand. The contributors to this are both popular media as well as influencers in society. Internet is becoming an amazing repository for this kind of information. This reputation gets deeply embedded in societal consciousness. There is agreement at a societal level as to what the brand stands for. This societal reputation affects how an individual would perceive the brand as agreed social reality not only influences personal reality but is also an important part of personal reality. This societal reputation exists for all three dimensions of trust. Stories, myths and anecdotes circulate about the competence of the brand as well as the affective and behavioural dimensions. The development of societal reputation is a continuous process and there is continuous updation of this reputation from whatever the brand does.
The other source of trust for a consumer is direct interaction with the brand. The fundamental factor here again is competence based trust. It is the bedrock of the overall trust that the brand will get from the consumer. The brand needs to be competent functionally and for a great amount of trust to happen needs to exceed expectations or be on the top of the heap of brands as far as competence is concerned. Most brands with high level of trust are more competent than all other brands in the category. The brand then needs to behave in a consistent manner to deliver on all brand promises. Only if the first two happen will the efforts to build an emotional bond succeed. Successful brands deliver consistently on these to have effective vulnerability prisms. The results of individual brand experience feedback into societal reputation as well.
If the above two factors are favourable towards a brand then the consumer has a positive attitude towards the brand. This would impact the brand’s status in the marketplace.
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