Customers might know of your brand, but don’t trust it. This doesn’t necessarily have to be mistrust (as in, they actively don’t believe in your statements) it could just be that you are not an established authority in the space. Customers want to feel confident that they’re making the right decision, and being a trusted advisor who solves their problems is the best way to do so.
Read more below or listen to Ben walk through No Brand Credibility and its treatments:
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No Brand Credibility Symptoms
Few or poor customer reviews
Few or poor expert reviews
Does not come up as a recommended product in category searches
Competitor products are recommended more favorably
High amount of traffic with minimal conversions
Low repeat purchase rate
Low amount of content engagement (e.g. video views, engaged site visits)
Treating No Brand Credibility
Reviews: soliciting, managing, and responding to reviews establishes credibility. Large amounts of user reviews are helpful in establishing credibility (10,000 4.5 star reviews is seen as better than a handful of 5 star reviews). However, working with established experts in the field to review your product promotes a “fair” and expert opinion. Be warned, though, that poor product quality (leading to a bad expert review) or sponsored reviews (removing their credibility) can backfire.
Influencers and podcasts: much like expert reviews, using influencers is a great way to draft off of the established trust. Even if it is sponsored, there’s a subconscious connection between the end-user trusting the influencer they follow, and if that influencer uses your product, they want to use it too. Podcasts are a great way to get custom content and credibility if the host is seen as an expert, and reads out the message with a curated reflection or perspective.
Thought leadership: completing experiments, producing whitepapers, or leading the space in research are all ways to establish credibility. This is often done from the individual perspective of leadership (such as the CEO), building their own personal brand into an influencer or expert that people follow irrespective of their business.
Content: as with thought leadership, producing content (such as blogs or articles) solving your customers’ problems will make them trust that you understand them and know how to help. Content syndication is a way to further expose this, such as working with publishers, paid networks, or newsletters.
Demonstrations: nothing establishes the value and credibility of a product or brand like a live (or digital) demonstration. Think infomercial, QVC, or sales pitch type environments; this can be done in content, in ads, through influencers, or in physical spaces such as events or roadshows. Something as simple as showing the product in action or as a comparison to competitors in an ad can work well.
Partnerships: partnering with a brand that is already perceived as highly credible or valuable leverages their esteem for your own benefit. For example, if you sell chairs, partnering with a highly respected desk manufacturer allows you to tap into their audience that already has established trust.
Events, sponsorships, third party expertise: sponsoring an event full of established experts in the field (such as a conference) can paint your brand in a positive light, and associate yourself with the expertise implied at the event. This can be done digitally as well, or through the collation of resources and materials in something like a webinar or a “useful tool” portal online.