How Businesses Fail to Keep Customers’ Trust

We all know that trust is something easily broken and difficult to repair. This covers most all areas of life including friendships, coach/player relationships, boss/employee relationships, and even the relationship between a company and their customers.

Neustar and the Ponemon Institute conducted a study of more than 750 US adults called, “What Erodes Trust in Digital Brands” to discover ways trust is being lost and how it could be regained.

The first area that causes customers to lose trust is content.

·        91% of adults surveyed say  they don’t trust websites with errors

·        55% don’t like when ads interfere with content

Second, the study shows performance can lose a customers’ trust.

·        88% of adults surveyed distrust websites that frequently go down

·        67% feel uneasy about websites that take too long to load

·        78% worry about the websites security if the performance is slow

·        40% are most concerned with slow performance during checkout

The final area where trust is commonly lost is in the security.

·        63% of adults surveyed don’t trust websites of companies that have experienced a data breach

o   33% say it takes 6 months to rebuild trust after data breach

o   24% never regain trust

·        55% don’t trust websites that don’t have security safeguards

·        22% don’t like the ability to stop being  tracked

·        19% don’t like websites that request too much personal information

·        10% don’t like the inability to delete/edit information already provided

Luckily, there are some ways companies can attempt to gain back trust after it has been lost. First, companies need to make sure the problem does not happen again. Customers will appreciate immediate action to ensure a better experience in the future. Make sure the company is focused on customer satisfaction and that they listen to the desires of customers.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced situations in life where trust has been lost and takes some real effort to regain it. The same applies to businesses. If trust is lost, it might be a long journey to gain back. 

Customers' Actions Prior to Making a Purchase

Recent research shows what actions a consumer makes prior to purchasing a product/service that was first advertised on television or radio. eMarketer reports the findings from Market Track’s study “Media Usage Survey.”

The survey tells a story that consumers will go online to research a product/service significantly more than other options available.

The results can help advertisers in their cross-media promotion. For example, the selling points in a commercial should be absolutely a part of the content of the advertisers’ website. Further description will help consumers in his/her decision making process.

Sports, Sports, Everywhere Sports

What would we do without sports? Without Thursday night football and the exhilarating World Series? Without Sunday afternoons filled with golf and the Olympics where the best of the best compete to win the gold?

Thankfully, I don’t believe that’s a world that we have to contemplate. In fact, it might just be the other way around. Advertisers are expanding their capabilities and connecting sports with the world in ways we’ve never seen before.

Google is prepared to take the run full force during this upcoming NFL season. They have built a tool that places ads alongside football-related search results. Picture this: you’re watching the heated rivals, the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, play in their first battle on the gridiron this season when you begin to think, “I wonder who won when the two teams played each other for the first time ever”. So, you automatically head to Google where you type your inquiry into the search engine and let the powerful mind of Google do the thinking. As your search results appear to answer your question, you see an Anheuser-Busch ad for Bud Light. But that’s not it, the fans drinking the Bud Light are wearing red and the cans have the Chiefs logo on them! Google has the power to place specific ads, in specific places, for specific people, at specific times.

Not only is Google on board with this real time advertising; social media outlets, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, have also bit the hook. Facebook aims to target football fans during NFL and college football games. Twitter offers several live-event tools, even one that allows brands to sponsor NFL related clips. Snapchat is working on a partnership to be able to have weekly NFL stories similar to their current “MLB Wednesdays” stories.

This instant advertising has many benefits for advertisers who capitalize. The New York Times reports from Nielsen stating that, “88% tablet and 86% of smartphone users access their device while watching TV”. Because of this second-screen, advertisers can now reach viewers on television as well as on their handheld device. Live online advertising also reaches those “cord-cutters” who no longer have cable but still desire to keep up with live sporting events via internet and social media. Advertising online is less expensive than on television which is a draw for many advertisers.

Tim Katz, a sports partnership lead for YouTube, says, “We see a ton of query volume happening in Google Search, particularly while events are happening live”. If more people are searching during events, then it only makes sense to get your message out when then when the traffic is high.

Lowe’s, the home improvement store, aims to do some real-time online advertising during Thursday night football games to encourage viewers to visit their store during the upcoming weekend.

As technology increases and the internet reaches limits we never thought possible, advertisers are able to combine their ads with sports, one of the worlds’ most loved activities.

From my personal opinion, sports aren’t going anywhere, and with that security, advertisers have their audience, now they just have to reel them in.

Life of a College Grad Turned Media Coordinator

Exactly 4 months ago I was walking across the stage in my university’s gym receiving my diploma. Today, I’m sitting at a desk, wearing clothes that are not sweats, at my first “big girl job” as a Media Coordinator.

I’ve been a media coordinator for almost two months now, and I can assure you, I’ve learned more than I thought possible. Media planning and buying is a whole wide world that is unknown to a majority of today’s population. Heck, sometimes I still think I don’t know what it is!

I’ve learned about impressions and clicks, prelogs and postlogs, traffic and reports, and the list goes on. My job here at Ruth Burke is a fun one. I have the privilege of learning from terrific women who are great at their jobs. I also get to learn digital advertising and traditional advertising. Talk about having the best of both worlds!

My days are filled with updating and sending out reports, writing traffic instructions, double, triple, and quadruple checking said instructions, conversing with clients and vendors, meeting new people, going to events, keeping records, and writing blogs.

Life in the “real world” hasn’t necessarily been the easiest transition. I’m stuck in the phase of regretting not choosing the 5-year plan in college and loving the grown-up adult life.

I love my job but I hate waking up at 7am. I hate that sweatpants and hoodies aren’t considered “business casual.” I love being considered an adult and no longer a “college kid.” I hate that afternoon naps are a thing of the past. I love not having homework, tests, and all-nighters filled with studying.

See what I mean? I’m stuck in the awkward phase of graduating college and entering the workforce.

But, lucky for me, as a media coordinator, I get to learn so much about an industry that I’m passionate about and enjoy. So, I say goodbye to the carefree college lifestyle and hello to Outlook reminders and high heels.