The human edge in marketing – building trust to enhance the customer experience

In my work with chief marketers, the topic of trust is often front and center. Regardless of the industry in which those companies sit, trust in both B2B and B2C is critical to success. And, building trust authentically comes down to some common themes: a focus on truly understanding customers’ needs; a desire to provide a rewarding experience; a respect for data privacy; and a commitment to making a positive impact on society and in the community.

The correlation between having a brand that demonstrates transparency and humanity and creating trust shouldn’t be underestimated. When Deloitte studied 7,500 consumers and employees to better understand what drives trust, we found that customers are 2.5 times more likely to provide personal information that helps improve the product and 1.7 times more likely to feel they have received more value than expected when a brand was transparent, authentic and human.

Recently, I got to explore the topic of trust in marketing with Melanie Boulden, CMO of The Coca-Cola Company’s North America operating unit and longtime consumer marketer. Boulden oversees marketing for the world’s biggest nonalcoholic beverage company across six beverage categories and more than 25 brands. Driving a comprehensive agenda to respond to changing tastes and expectations about one of the world’s most recognized brands, she explained how the company is adapting to new generations of consumers whose product preferences, as well as ideas about the role of today’s brands, have evolved.

“Consumers today are very health conscious and want low- and no-sugar options,” Boulden said. “We are listening to them.”

One of her priorities is to enable the company’s response to shifts in marketplace dynamics. Since the onset of the Covid pandemic, more than one-third of Coca-Cola’s consumers have started buying beverages online. That compelled the company to boost its digital capabilities and partnerships. It is clear that to build trust, brands should focus on what people value—and that means leveraging data insights and connecting on a human, empathetic level.

“We take the data we gain through listening and really hone it to get insights about both our customers—including businesses such as grocery retailers, restaurants, food service companies, and entertainment venues—and the consumers who ultimately buy our products from those customers,” Boulden said.

Balancing personalization and trust

To activate its digital goals, Boulden shared that the company is partnering with customers to optimize their presence on virtual “aisles” and digital menus, and is experimenting with interactive gaming to enhance the shopping experience. There’s a focus on personalization with each consumer, down to individual members within households.

“People really want to relate to brands—real brands that are not afraid to take a stand, take chances, and be a little quirky,” Boulden told me. “Perfection is out. Sometimes we might knock the ball out of the park; other times, we might make mistakes. But as long as we provide context and continue to take calculated risks, we should be in a good position moving forward.”

Ensuring the integrity of those marketing tactics in regard to customer data was part of our research for Deloitte’s 2022 Global Marketing Trends Report.

After polling 11,500 global consumers from 19 countries, we then presented 10 brand interactions that use customer data and asked respondents to rate the interaction on a scale of creepy to helpful. For instance, 68% of respondents said they believed it was helpful when a trusted brand provided them alerts when items went on sale.

At the other end of the spectrum, people reacted negatively when it appeared their devices were listening to them—for instance, picking up on a conversation with a friend about a caffeine craving— and a coffee ad shows up in their social media feed. In this case, 53% found the interactions creepy.

“How often you say something is important, but it’s also what you’re saying—and when and where you’re saying it—that determines whether consumers really hear the message,” Boulden says. “We gain trust through authentic conversations, actions, and experiences when we provide information in a very transparent and connected way. Building trust also requires delivering consistent messages over time, so consumers understand who you are and believe it.”

Striking the balance between personalization and trust can come down to delivery – creating an effective hybrid experience that increases personalization, innovation, connection, and inclusion, enabled by a human-first data strategy.

Please check out my interview with Melanie Boulden and feel free to leave your thoughts on in the comments. How has your organization been able to build strong customer relationships by building trust?

The executives’ participation in this article are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This article should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

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