Edition 1: Building Your Brand in Bits and Bytes - What is Digital Trust and Why it Matters
Is Trust the new Digital Currency?
Trust is not a new concept.? Throughout history, trust has been a significant contributor to each and every individual’s lives.? How we engage, with whom or with what we build relationships, how deeply we invest emotionally, and where our loyalties lie are all driven by or considerably influenced by trust.??
Trust is more than just human to human.? It also applies to companies.? As consumers choose to do business with certain companies, trust has traditionally been built through the effectiveness and value of the products and excellent customer experiences over time.? Trust is therefore becoming a far more prominent factor in customer engagement and retention.? This is especially true with products or services where specific and deep levels of expertise are required – from auto mechanics to healthcare providers to building contractors.? And as our interactions increasingly move online, a new dimension of trust has emerged – Digital Trust.? Later sections will explore both the internal and external dimensions of Digital Trust in more detail.???
Trust is also a significant factor in where we work.? Will I be paid well?? Can I provide security for my family?? Do I like what I’ll be doing?? Important questions for anyone choosing their jobs.? And given so much of the employee/employer experience is outside our direct control, extensive trust is required there as well.??
These dynamics of trust in the business world and how it impacts our perspectives, our engagements and our decisions has been studied, analyzed and referenced by prominent and noteworthy sources.? We will explore three.??
Sandra Sucher has been a Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School for over 25 years.? She is a world-renowned researcher on trust, focusing on companies and their responsibilities to customers and various stakeholders regarding trust.? She outlines great insights based on extensive research and experience in her book The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It.? As we explore trust and evolve towards Digital Trust, two compelling themes from Sucher’s work come to mind:
?“Trust isn't a feeling; it results from intentional choices.?Trust is earned across four dimensions: competence, motives, means and impact.”?
David Horsager explores trust more from a company leadership perspective, and how it directly impacts leadership effectiveness, team performance, and overall morale.? Horsager and his team authored a national bestselling book The Trust Edge, produce helpful research in their annual Trust Outlook, and through speaking events and engagements explore trust pillars and relevant data.
“Without trust, influence is destroyed.? Without trust, organizations lose productivity, relationships, reputation, talent, customer loyalty, creativity, morale, revenue, and results. Indeed trust, not money, is the currency of business.”
Kevin Plank is an American business success story, penetrating and thriving in one of the most competitive markets in the world.? As Founder and Executive Chairman of Under Armour, Plank underscores the importance of trust for brand loyalty in athletic apparel, shoes and accessories.? He also recognizes the challenge of building and maintaining trust, and how quickly it can be lost or compromised.?
领英推荐
“Brands are all about trust. That trust is built in drops and lost in buckets.”
So, what is Digital Trust?
This dynamic of trust in a business context is becoming far more profound as data, digital and technology are more embedded in business models and points of engagement.? Customers and stakeholders are digitally engaging with or sending their data to companies and organizations across the world on the order of billions of transactions per day.? We click, we swipe, we tap, we ask Siri or Alexa, we collaborate with Slack or Teams – with little or no knowledge of how it works or what’s actually happening.? Whether we know it or not, that’s trust.?
Digital Trust becomes a factor for any entity, company or organization when its capabilities to deliver and operate data, digital and technology capabilities have direct influence and linkage to its reputation.? The first industry where Digital Trust became a significant business challenge, not surprisingly, was the technology industry.? Companies such as Salesforce, Cisco, Uber and SAP established digital trust practices.? Other industries, such as healthcare and life sciences, have traditionally had more pressing reputational drivers – such as prescription drug prices and product quality.? Now all industries and all companies have become or are becoming data and digitally driven, and successful transformation increasingly relies on Digital Trust.?
Prominent consulting and advisory firms such as Deloitte and McKinsey have established Trust and Digital Trust practices, with great insights on how trust-related goals and objectives can support and enable business outcomes.? The World Economic Forum now has an active Digital Trust working community, and has produced highly effective frameworks and thought leadership for building, tracking and measuring Digital Trust.?
"Digital trust is individuals’ expectation that digital technologies and services – and the organizations providing them – will protect all stakeholders’ interests and uphold societal expectations and values."?
Influence, focus and commitment to establishing and maintaining Trust and Digital Trust will be critical for effective business performance across all industries.? Digital Trust can enable new collaborative models and innovative partnerships, will proactively help address new compliance requirements and can head off potential issues related to data misuse or technology failures.? Those who earn trust online will lift customer loyalty and can outmaneuver competition.?
For any business leader, the opportunities of prioritizing Digital Trust are clear. In a future edition, we will map out how this could relate to the maturity and value progression of an information or cyber security (CISO) organization. We will also explore how Digital Trust can be operationalized within a company, and how tightly it links with the core foundations of information security, data privacy and risk management.
References
Nicely done Mike!