Building trust and establishing credibility needs to be the cornerstone of any Internet marketing strategy. The post-modern consumer is, as Dr Flint McGlaughlin quotes 'armed and dangerous' - he or she can in a single click, terminate your attempt to build a relationship with them.

More than ever before, on-line shoppers are wary of hype and highly sceptical of any marketing message. We are faced with an uphill battle to distinguish our offer from those of our competitors and to prove to a weary and twitchy audience that what we are promoting is genuine.

Dr Flint McGlaughlin has coined (and even trade marked) the term Transparent Marketing [TM]. I have great respect for his work with Marketing Experiments Journal and in his commitment to bringing greater integrity to Internet Marketing. I participated in a recent tele-class with him in which he spoke out against the 'low trust' tactics used by marketers such as the late Corey Rudl, whose Internet marketing courses have sold by the thousand and influenced literally hundreds of thousands of website strategies.

McGlaughlin sets out a case for communicating more honestly and openly with our audience with the motive of winning their trust.

But why is it that most of the focus in ethical marketing circles seems to be centred around presentation rather than substance? Afterall, any marketer worth his salt will work skilfully to convey a company's offer in a way that can make almost any pitch at least appear to be credible. Just look at the way petroleum companies such as BP and Shell have re-branded themselves as 'green' companies.

Whilst creative, trust-building communication strategies and re-branding will certainly help, I would argue however that we need to go deeper than this if we are to truly win over our audience.

We need to BE credible, not just appear to be so.

As more and more companies wake up to the realisation that trust is key there is a danger of this back-firing as marketers focus upon changing the wrapping paper rather than looking at what's in the box.

Building trust is not simply an exercise in communication or presentation. It is about being what you want your audience to believe that you are. This is the essence of ethical Internet marketing and it requires examining your company's values and practices right to the core.

An ethical marketing approach involves the following attitude to the process of trust building:

• If you don't have sufficient testimonials from clients - focus upon serving your clients better so that they will be happy to write you a glowing reference.

• If your credibility is undermined by your lack of awards, qualifications and certification make it part of your business plan to re-train and to achieve award-winning standards.

• If your offer is less than 100% genuine, improve your product or service until it is.

• If you cannot prove that your product or service works, get proof. Run your own poll or survey and consider hiring a market research team. Don't just view this a marketing exercise. Learn from the research results about how you can make improvements.

• If you lack credibility as a serious player in your market area you need to earn respect. This may mean publishing articles or a book, speaking at conferences and appearing in the press and media.

• If your values are compromised by the way you do business put things right. This could mean treating your staff better, adopting more environmentally sound office practices or donating to charity.

By adopting what I call the 'Just Be It' attitude to business, you will find that the substance of your company - the values that it actually embodies - will speak volumes to your audience.

Simon Bowen, fluidstate.com

Posted by Simon Bowen at 09:00 AM | Permalink

The recent debacle surrounding Google's decision to censor its search results in China reveals just how strongly Internet users and shareholders alike view the issue of trust. Google's "Do No Evil" stance has undoubtedly been severely compromised by what it refers to as its policy of 'engagement' with China.

Let's be frank about this. Google's decision to open to the China market was not an attempt to bring democracy to the people. It was a commercial decision aimed at capturing a major share of the world's fastest growing economy. Google compromised its own values in pursuit of profit and focused upon pleasing its shareholders first and foremost and assumed that they and Google users alike wouldn't care all that much. Wrong.

Shortly after the China decision was announced, $13bn was wiped off the value of Google shares. That's 12% of the company's value. The Independent article of 2nd February headlines with, 'Google shares plummet in one day amid growing fury over censorship and plagiarism'.

I would sound a word of caution when linking the sharp drop in Google's share value solely with the China issue. Many analysts report that the cause can be attributed to the over-inflated price of Google shares. But we can certainly say that Google's decision has caused its image to be severely tarnished. I for one, am certain that Google will profit hugely from its commercial activities in China. But at what cost to its overall reputation?

As Internet marketers what can we learn about these recent events? First and foremost, this seems to bring home to all businesses the importance of walking our talk. There was no such outcry when Microsoft or Yahoo engaged in censorship. Why? Because they did not make "Do No Evil" their company motto. Google however has built its brand around the notion that it is a 'good' company - a company we can trust and that isn't embroiled in controversy and claims of malpractice or unethical behaviour.

We all should learn the lesson that 'styles change, values don't'. 'Brand' is more than how a company presents itself. It is the emotional connection that a consumer makes with a company. It is about trust, core values and relationship building. This still is Google's greatest asset - built up over years of dedicated service by delivering the fastest, most reliable, clutter-free search engine. But only having built this reputation could Google then cash in on this, developing highly lucrative paid services which eventually enabled the company to become the giant that it is today.

Being a value-driven company requires a commitment over the long-term to sticking to the core principles that your customers expect of you. Abandon these at your peril.

Posted by Simon Bowen at 08:02 AM | Permalink