Building Trust
Bringing the six elements of trust to your Internet value proposition, though, does not automatically lead to deep, trusting relationships. That comes through a step-by-step process in which the consumer and marketer exchange value. Each time the consumer volunteers some personal information, the marketer rewards the consumer with a more personalized service. This mutual give-and-take eventually leads to an advanced collaboration based on trust.
The research has identified four stages of trust building:
Attraction
At the first stage, the consumer browses the site and even makes a transaction. No real relationship exists between the marketer and the consumer, and none may be warranted. The best strategy is to provide the consumer with information, without demanding any in return. At first blush, this may seem like an imbalance between what marketers give and what they get back. But what the consumer is giving the marketer is something quite valuable: time and attention, along with a view of how the site is traversed.
The time and attention translates into the "mind share" needed to create a brand preference. The average consumer on Ralston Purina’s Dog Chow Web site, which offers no product for sale, spends more than six minutes per session learning how to care for pets. That’s far more time—and concentration—than consumers devote to a 30-second TV ad.
User-Driven Personalization
At the second stage, consumers start shaping Web pages to their specific tastes. For example, CDnow customers can personalize their home pages with favorite artists and wish lists. The company shows that it is willing to deliver some value to the consumer before gaining financially. Charles Schwab now invites users to set up a personal page through the MySchwab service, where users can not only track stocks but also get customized sports news, weather information, and even cartoons. Users aren’t required to open a Schwab account to do so.
Marketer-Driven Personalization
In the third stage, marketers begin using insights provided by consumers to beam information back to them. Thus, CDnow uses its knowledge of consumers—developed at the earlier stages of trust—to suggest products they might like which consumers then rate as either on- or off-target. As the process continues, CDnow learns consumers’ preferences and zeroes in on what they really like. It is worth emphasizing that marketers should rein in their urge to make immediate use of data and personalization technologies. This approach takes patience, a trait lacking at many marketing organizations. Too often they bombard consumers with promotional offers as soon as they get their hands on an e-mail address. We suggest a gradual approach, as nothing aggravates many Internet users more than unsolicited e-mail.
A best practice is to let the user set the pace of personalization and contact from marketers. User-driven personalization should precede marketer-driven offers. Recent research by Professor Youngme Moon of the Harvard Business School has shown that premature personalization can backfire. Moon found that consumers were less likely to buy products pitched to them through messages if the messages were based on information they had not given to the marketer themselves. According to "Is Your Web Site Socially Savvy?" a May–June 1999 Harvard Business Review article, consumers were more likely to buy when the message was personalized and based on information they had volunteered.
Trust-Based Collaboration
At the final stage, the marketer and the consumer work together closely. The consumer gives the marketer access to the most sensitive personal information (family, finances, or health) and in turn gains customized experiences and consultative problem-solving
assistance. In our view, very few on-line marketers have reached this level of trust with their consumers.
The pace of value exchange varies by industry and situation. For example, mortgage shoppers may provide financial information in their very first interaction if they need a quick answer. In other situations, the process moves more slowly. And because costs rise as marketers go up the trust staircase, they must decide just how far they need to go to create the most profitable relationships. Trust building at a basic level may be enough for some marketers, particularly if greater trust does not bring greater spending by consumers.
Only by sustaining trust can marketers expect to establish enduring relationships with consumers, and it is by keeping a central focus on that idea that marketers build a value exchange that delivers consistent and progressive mutual benefits. With the six building blocks of trust in place, marketers should be able to chart a course for building great on-line businesses.
Bringing the six elements of trust to your Internet value proposition, though, does not automatically lead to deep, trusting relationships. That comes through a step-by-step process in which the consumer and marketer exchange value. Each time the consumer volunteers some personal information, the marketer rewards the consumer with a more personalized service. This mutual give-and-take eventually leads to an advanced collaboration based on trust.
The research has identified four stages of trust building:
Attraction
At the first stage, the consumer browses the site and even makes a transaction. No real relationship exists between the marketer and the consumer, and none may be warranted. The best strategy is to provide the consumer with information, without demanding any in return. At first blush, this may seem like an imbalance between what marketers give and what they get back. But what the consumer is giving the marketer is something quite valuable: time and attention, along with a view of how the site is traversed.
The time and attention translates into the "mind share" needed to create a brand preference. The average consumer on Ralston Purina’s Dog Chow Web site, which offers no product for sale, spends more than six minutes per session learning how to care for pets. That’s far more time—and concentration—than consumers devote to a 30-second TV ad.
User-Driven Personalization
At the second stage, consumers start shaping Web pages to their specific tastes. For example, CDnow customers can personalize their home pages with favorite artists and wish lists. The company shows that it is willing to deliver some value to the consumer before gaining financially. Charles Schwab now invites users to set up a personal page through the MySchwab service, where users can not only track stocks but also get customized sports news, weather information, and even cartoons. Users aren’t required to open a Schwab account to do so.
Marketer-Driven Personalization
In the third stage, marketers begin using insights provided by consumers to beam information back to them. Thus, CDnow uses its knowledge of consumers—developed at the earlier stages of trust—to suggest products they might like which consumers then rate as either on- or off-target. As the process continues, CDnow learns consumers’ preferences and zeroes in on what they really like. It is worth emphasizing that marketers should rein in their urge to make immediate use of data and personalization technologies. This approach takes patience, a trait lacking at many marketing organizations. Too often they bombard consumers with promotional offers as soon as they get their hands on an e-mail address. We suggest a gradual approach, as nothing aggravates many Internet users more than unsolicited e-mail.
A best practice is to let the user set the pace of personalization and contact from marketers. User-driven personalization should precede marketer-driven offers. Recent research by Professor Youngme Moon of the Harvard Business School has shown that premature personalization can backfire. Moon found that consumers were less likely to buy products pitched to them through messages if the messages were based on information they had not given to the marketer themselves. According to "Is Your Web Site Socially Savvy?" a May–June 1999 Harvard Business Review article, consumers were more likely to buy when the message was personalized and based on information they had volunteered.
Trust-Based Collaboration
At the final stage, the marketer and the consumer work together closely. The consumer gives the marketer access to the most sensitive personal information (family, finances, or health) and in turn gains customized experiences and consultative problem-solving
assistance. In our view, very few on-line marketers have reached this level of trust with their consumers.
The pace of value exchange varies by industry and situation. For example, mortgage shoppers may provide financial information in their very first interaction if they need a quick answer. In other situations, the process moves more slowly. And because costs rise as marketers go up the trust staircase, they must decide just how far they need to go to create the most profitable relationships. Trust building at a basic level may be enough for some marketers, particularly if greater trust does not bring greater spending by consumers.
Only by sustaining trust can marketers expect to establish enduring relationships with consumers, and it is by keeping a central focus on that idea that marketers build a value exchange that delivers consistent and progressive mutual benefits. With the six building blocks of trust in place, marketers should be able to chart a course for building great on-line businesses.