What is trust, exactly? Is it the same for everyone, or can it be different?
Can trust in a celebrity, for example, be as strong as trust in a friend or family member? It might seem a strange concept, but if that celebrity has a lot of influence over you then isn’t that just as strong as advice from a close friend?
And how about a business? Does the sales or marketing message from a business hold more sway than word-of-mouth from a friend or connection if the business hasn’t been wrong so far?
Sony, for example, used CGI-rendered demos for their soon-to-be-released Playstation 2 console back in 1999 yet claimed they were in-game graphics. When the actual games came out, they couldn’t possibly live up to the hype, yet the console would go on to become one of the most successful ever.
So can trust be overcome with huge marketing and advertising budgets and sheer brute force of numbers?
It’s often said that the capital of trust is crucial for any business success. It’s also part of what makes us who we are, and how we view others (and are viewed ourselves). But can trust be manipulated to the point that it’s difficult to differentiate between a sales pitch and a genuine recommendation?
As paid blogging and sponsored tweets continue to come under both praise and criticism, it’s clear that trust will define who is successful and who isn’t. Or will it? Does trust disappear when monetary value comes into play?
How does your trust come about? If it’s broken, is that forever or do you offer second chances? Can companies be trusted implicitly, or is it it the means to an end for selling a product?
I trust your views – feel free to share them and let’s open up the conversation.
image: scottburnham
