Gaining trust is crucial to brand performance. Eighty-five per cent of consumers will now only consider buying from a brand if they trust it¹, research shows – but how do you earn it?

Microsoft Advertising’s Marketing with Purpose Playbook provides a thorough approach to driving trust and understanding and representing your audience, demonstrating your key values and ensuring your brand is regarded as genuine and authentic.

The playbook contains the findings from a series of consumer research studies involving 28,000 people across five continents from December 2019 to January 2020, geared around the three building blocks of trust: responsibility; values; and inclusion. It also covers best-practice advice on privacy and security, ethical advertising, brand values and inclusive marketing.

The playbook also features key insights from two comprehensive Microsoft Advertising studies: The Acceleration of Brand Performance through Trust, Love, and Loyalty, and The Psychology of Inclusion and the Effects in Advertising.

The past 12 months have shown it is crucial to adopt a people-first approach to marketing. Customers do not want to be targeted and converted – they want to be heard, understood, included and welcomed.

Here, we present the three strategies to help you market your brand with purpose and drive trust with your customers.

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Brands must deliver on their promises with a high degree of transparency and responsibility, whether that involves respecting consumers’ privacy, protecting personal information, being open and honest about how personal data will be used, or delivering on promises made in advertising or marketing.

Microsoft Advertising’s research shows 91% of consumers are concerned about the amount of data companies collect about them, while two-thirds do not understand how their data is being used². Consumers will always favour brands who they trust to handle their information with care. 

Four in 10 people surveyed believe privacy is the responsibility of the business collecting the data³, so brands that demonstrate this responsibility will build trust with consumers – a privacy compliance checklist is an essential step.

Marketing in 2021 is all about understanding what customers value, which not only involves making them feel recognised and respected but also means creating personalised experiences to gain their trust.

Making your stance on societal issues clear is another way of demonstrating responsibility and ethical drivers are deemed three-times more important than competence when trusting a brand. According to PR consultancy Edelman’s Brand Trust in 2020 report (which surveyed 22,000 respondents across 11 markets between May and December 2020), 80% of people think brands should play their part in solving societal problems – despite only a third of advertisers believing that taking a political or social stance creates a stronger bond with customers.

People want brands to take a stand and make their opinions on societal issues clear. Your stance will determine whether a buyer recommends your brand or boycotts it.

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Brand values are one of the key ways to build trust, and once you have developed it, brand love and loyalty will follow. Start by identifying your role and purpose and how you support people’s values. Doing so will help to create vital connection points with the consumer.

Almost half (48%) of people surveyed stopped purchasing from a brand because it did not represent their values, with this figure rising to 50% of women and 53% of diverse communities (and 48% of men)⁴.

First, look at your brand’s mission statement, then consider the types of people the brand serves and their values. Look at how your mission statement describes how your brand serves these people and find the shared values that will create a connection between you and your customers.

It is important to recognise that values and attitudes vary across generations. For example, Boomers (aged 56-74) value authenticity, family and relationships⁵, but none of these are as important to Millennials (24-39) who value fun, knowledge and curiosity. Generation X (40-55) is more likely to be negative about the future, while Generation Z (23 and under) is more optimistic and likelier to be charitable, so tailoring value propositions to age demographics is worth considering.

The research also highlights the importance of being aware of how values vary according to ethnicity and gender. For example, 93% of Black and African American people surveyed would be likely to pay more for sustainable/eco-friendly products, while 51% of LGBTQ+ people are more likely to regularly donate to a charity compared with the average internet user⁶. Having this information at your disposal is key to influencing your campaign messaging and product positioning.

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A survey by the World Federation of Advertisers showed 72% of leading marketers believe customer experience will be more important to their role in five years’ time⁷. The pandemic has forced the retail industry to reinvent CX, so brands need to ensure customer experiences are accessible, inclusive and culturally accurate.

The majority of websites are not accessible. More than 1 billion people in the world live with a disability⁸, 70% of which are not visible, so brands should consider adopting a persona spectrum when considering CX⁹. This involves designing for the edge of a population’s ability (of which there are relatively few in number) and by doing so, you create a solution for all.

Inclusivity is a key aspect of CX – examples include Nike’s Go FlyEase trainers designed for disabled people to put on and remove easily and Tru-Colour first-aid bandages, available in a variety of skin tones.

Inclusive ads show higher purchase intent¹⁰ – Microsoft Advertising’s research found the most inclusive adverts drove a 23% lift in how likely an individual is to buy – and also demonstrate your brand is open-minded and progressive. 

A 2019 Microsoft survey found the number-one reason for not applying multicultural or inclusive marketing was the fear of getting it wrong – but purchase intents rise when consumers view an advert they deem as inclusive. In addition, nearly two-thirds (64%) of people surveyed said they are more trusting of brands that represent diversity in their advertising, so it is an essential way to connect with consumers¹¹. Taking the time to understand cultural nuances and language preferences will create stronger brand trust, too.

These three strategies will help retailers make the shift from a product-focused approach to a people-focused one. Marketing with purpose is a way of creating authentic and genuine brands that increase consumer trust and loyalty – and given how retail has changed in the past 12 months, it is the right way forward.

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