The Boy
=
Your Organization

The Unicorn
=
Your Brand’s Trustworthiness

The boy in the story is your organization. It needs attention from the neighbors aka dollars from consumers.

In the beginning of the story, the boy held his neighbor’s trust and then lost it. However, unlike the boy, aviation brands don’t inherently own consumer trust. It needs to be created. But why?

Your aviation brand’s trust is the unicorn of the story. It’s elusive and needs to be seen in order to be believed in.

The promise of whatever service, experience, or product you provide, plus the ability to fulfill that promise, needs to be demonstrated by action. You have to be seen walking in the neighborhood. Here's how:

Corporations are faceless. According to Entrepreneur.com, “people are more willing to trust other people than they are massive bureaucratic organizations...”

If you go to aerospacemarketinglab.com, you will notice that the chat bubble in the bottom left corner has a photo and name. Lisa does work for AML, she is real, she is accessible, and when you start a chat, it’s her responding. Imagine trying to connect to a corporation, and speaking to a different representative each time. It’s annoying and subconsciously dissolves any trust that had been created previously.

Social Proof. Social proof is the theory that consumers will adapt their behavior according to what other people are doing. And the single most important characteristic of building social proof is having your employees be your biggest advocates.

Develop a plan for your brand to earn a reputation for supporting your employees by highlighting your team, showing the faces, and personalities of the people who work for you.

Advertising is often seen as manipulative. According to Edelman’s 2019 Brand Trust Survey, 41 percent of consumers saying they don’t trust brands’ communications to be truthful and nearly three-fourths of those consumers also reported that they try to avoid advertising altogether. Yikes.

Guarantee Value. In a direct answer to why people don't trust brands, cut down on advertising and pursue a content marketing strategy to attract buyers through a positive brand experience. Provide value at the moments that matter most. For more on the value of meaningful touch points, read here.

Money is on the line. This may even be the most striking reason why consumers are skeptical of your brand. People aren’t willing to part with their money unless there’s a demonstrably favorable reason to do so.

Be Consistent. Above all, promises must be realistically and consistently kept, proving that what the organization offers is worth what the consumer is paying for. This could include consistent 5 star reviews (this is also social proof), listing the benefits (guaranteeing value), or estimating ROI based on real numbers from previous consumers (consistency).

The Neighbors = Your Consumers

The neighbors in the story are your consumers. They need to see in order to believe - and purchase.

Edelman ranked brand trust as one of the top factors they consider when making a purchase, with 81 percent of survey respondents saying that they “must be able to trust the brand to do what is right.”  And that ideal is only possible when consumers possess a clear understanding of your brand.