Trust is multi-faceted creature. A strength in one area doesn’t necessarily result in a person or a brand being trusted in other areas. Most people and brands are trusted for certain things, like the competence to do a certain job, or having a great vision, or delivering an excellent and reliable personal benefit.
Some of my friends I trust for being great fun and the life of the party, but I don’t trust their promptness or reliability. Other friends are really smart and thought-provoking, but I do not trust their ability to choose good looking clothes, shoes and various other personal items.
It’s the same with brands. Take Apple and Samsung smartphones. Both are highly trusted brands, but they are trusted in somewhat different ways.
A recent Duxton Consulting study indicated that Samsung is trusted for delivering a more intense personal relationship and a stronger array of personal benefits than Apple.
But Apple delivered clear strengths in the area of competence and rock solid stability. People clearly trust the Apple brand for being good at what it does, delivering what they want, and having the resources and ability to keep doing so. This seems to me to match their brand personalities with Samsung being more fun, involving and inventive, versus Apple being cool, designer-led, robust, with a history of consistently developing new creative platforms.
Closer to home, think about how much you trust Proton and Perodua….or not. Perodua is a far more trusted brand than Proton across every facet of trust.
The strongest area of trust in Perodua is in the area of ‘development’. People perceive Perodua as a much more progressive brand than Proton. Perodua is trusted for being more innovative, offering better designs, and being likely to keep progressing well in the future.
However Proton gets much closer to Perodua in the area of Relationship, especially among Malays. Given its history, there is obviously a special place in the hearts of Malaysians for Proton, and this is the core of trust in the brand. But will affection for Proton lead to purchase of the brand? If the relationship isn’t backed up by other facets of trust, Proton will have a problem in a more competitive automobile market.
What do you trust your friends for?
What is your Company trusted for ?