Is trust a must?

Imagine a room packed full of people, each jostling for space, food and survival. There's a door to the room, but it only works one way - people can come in, but cannot leave. And, the room keeps filling up, cramming more after more. The people in the room face paranoia, fear, aggression and as time progresses and as the crowd grows, only one objective remains - to survive. Now, imagine the crowded room to be your mind and the teeming people to be brands that enter incessantly. This, perhaps, is the closest picture of the chaotic state of the stakeholder's mind in a brand stuffed world.  

Businesses are 'transactable ideas' that need their stakeholders' trust to even exist, let alone endure. A trusted idea automatically becomes an accepted idea and in its degree of acceptance lies its transmission quotient. And so, when a business establishes strong trust bonds with its stakeholders, through its offerings, communication or existence, it continually reinforces its brand - its life-force. Ideas which combat trust and promote morbidity, eventually getting snuffed by the stronger trust forces. As brands establish trust in those they engage with, they become a very part of the stakeholder's mind, almost reflecting it in their brand persona.

As hundreds of thousands of brands battle for the stakeholder's mindshare, one can only imagine the gruesome outcome. Warring brands often take dangerous and undesirable shortcuts, and victories, if any, are mostly pyrrhic - maiming the victor's brand as much as it does the losers. More than anything, the unfortunate result of negative brand action most often is that the reward being fought for - the stakeholders mind - also gets severely injured in the battle. Brands must therefore remain very aware of two things; firstly, that they are capable of wounding the stakeholder's minds by what they say and do, and secondly, that the minds of the stakeholders' are already in much agony due to previous brand actions. Brands which tread carefully and build trust help alleviate the pain and find a permanent place with stakeholders, and those that do not, may get noticed, but will be associated by the stakeholder with anguish and grief.

Machiavelli's wrote in his book 'The Prince', what seems most appropriate for Brand Trust as well- "Princes who acquire their principalities with ease, keep it with difficulty, and those who acquire it with difficulty, keep it with ease." Drawing a Brand Trust analogy from his book - if a brand acquires trust with much effort, it will keep it with ease, and if it acquires Brand Trust without much effort, the brand will keep it with difficulty.  This, however, is not to say that one must focus solely on gaining trust, for such unilateral focus is counter-productive. Instead, it requires the brand to go about its action and communication as normal, so that each such is infused with trust enhancing ingredients. 

With every brand trying to mean everything to everyone, if there's any differentiator between closely competing brands, it is trust. As trust becomes more ephemeral, so does the need to hold on to it with greater care and caution. And, if a brand acquires the trust of its stakeholders, those that impact it in the now and in the future, such a brand is destined for eternal greatness. 

Brands - Ideas with soul...

Living ideas

An idea is a 'memetic' system analogous to the genetic information system. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from person to person through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable actions.

Richard Dawkins, the originator of the term meme, wrote in his book, The Selfish Gene, “Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes, fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches.  Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.  If a scientist hears, or reads about, a good idea, he passes it on to his colleagues and students.  He mentions it in his articles and his lectures.  If the idea catches on, it can be said to propagate itself, spreading from brain to brain.”

Memes rely upon stored memory to create new memories through experiences of different kinds - physical, psychological, experiential, transactional, ethical, metaphysical, spiritual, social and cultural. Memes self-replicate and respond to selective pressures following genetic principles like natural selection, variation, mutation, competition and inheritance.

To give a more philosophical interpretation to the Brand, imagine it as a living idea - an idea which has a soul. The Brand is the soul that gives animation to the idea - its non-corporeal essence, its vital-breath or life-force. The Brand is embodied in, and acts through, its physical and non-physical extensions. Every state of the idea expresses its brand-soul and the concept of Brand is present in the smallest thing that the idea represents, as much as it is evident in the whole. It is something that emerges from the conscious and subconscious interaction with the complete entity.

As soon as an idea has been conceptualized or it begins to transact, the Brand’s journey of life has begun. The Brand may be visible or invisible, it may be understood or not, but the Brand is born with the birth of the idea itself. Such a 'living' idea carries in it a natural ability to spawn and inspire generations of brands. 

(Extract from the author's forthcoming book 'Decoding Communication')

Summary of Chapters of Decoding Communication

Decoding Communication

The book 'Decoding Communication' is expected to be launched in the first/second week of July 2012 and will be available in all major online stores and book stores across India. 

DECODING COMMUNICATION 

(summary of chapters)

SECTION 1 - COMMUNICATION FUNDAMENTALS

Chapter 1

A Brief History of Communication

Basic communication has evolved to give humans the advantage of language. Did sophisticated communication develop by accident? Why are we able to communicate better than other species? What are the key principles that underlie modern communication?

Chapter 2

Life's Script: Trust

Trust is indispensable and is the basis of all our relationships. What makes trust so important? How does it develop? What are the characteristics of trust? Can all human behavior be explained on the basis of trust?

Chapter 3

Understanding Brands

Brands are living ideas. They grow by transmission, from one person's mind to the next. What makes brands so interwoven with everything else in life? What is the true nature of a brand? How can we create and recognize great brands?

SECTION 2 - MODELS IN COMMUNICATION

Chapter 4

Brand Appeal Model

All brands have in-built appeal, a magnetic force that attracts others. What is Brand Appeal made up of? Can brands enhance their attractive force? What role does communication play in appeal?

Chapter 5

Perception Model

Perception creates many truths in communication. How does our thinking influence the truth? What is the language of thought? Can we impact the force of influence?

Chapter 6

Propaganda Model

Propaganda has the power to sway audiences. Is it right or wrong? Why it is necessary to understand propaganda? What are the methods of propaganda and why are they so effective?

Chapter 7

Trust Model

Trust is the degree of believability of anything. What are the benefits of measuring Trust? What is the Trust Paradox? What are the ingredients of Trust? How can a brand acquire Trust?

SECTION 3 - FUTURE OF COMMUNICATION

Chapter 8

Increasing Business Predictability

Organizations exist only to communicate their vision. How does such an approach help build flexibility in business? How does it create Organizational Resilience? What is the Organizational Maturity Model?

Chapter 9

Liberating Organizations

Public Relations liberates organizations and helps them reach greatness. What role do Popularity and Reputation play in making a company great? What are the traits that good public relations programs display?

Chapter 10

Sustainable communication

We are perpetually surrounded by high decibels of brand communication. Does it really work? How can an organization communicate better? What is sustainable communication?

Chapter 11

Leadership Strategy

The most difficult task in the communication age is leadership. What are the pillars of leadership in this era? What rules must leaders follow in such times? What is the 4 Cs of Leadership Strategy?