The truth about trust
The word trust seems to get thrown around a lot. Within the car industry it is constantly talked about as a key-deciding factor for buyers. When I look for new vendors I tell them that trust is crucial to doing business with me. However, seldom do I think about what it really means to trust someone.
This came to my attention because I recently switched vendors on something, even though I trusted the old vendor completely. The new vendor showed me how much time and money I could be saving with them and my alliance to the old vendor seemed to quickly fade. After only a few short meetings I found myself easily ending an eight-year relationship. At that point it hit me how quickly my trust shifted from the old vendor to the new one.
What came to my attention is that even though I did trust the old vendor, they did not look out for my best interest. They did not do everything in their power to get me what I needed, as fast as possible and at a lower cost. This made me realize how fickle trust can be. It is not simply a matter of whether or not you trust someone; it is to what degree you trust them that it really matters.
I think about this in my own industry and it makes perfect sense. If someone bought cars from me for eight years and then found out they could get the same car faster and cheaper, they would immediately trust me less and the other person more. The true key to trust is to not just establish it but to reinforce it. Taking trust to the next level and building a relationship of value to that customer reinforces me and my product/service in their mind. The goal is to remind our customers that not only do we want their business today, but we’d like to keep it for years to come.
The truth about trust is that it is not something that you gain once and then forget about. Trust is something that, once earned, must constantly be reinforced and strengthened. Having realized this, I personally will be spending a part of my time every week not just gaining people’s trust, but keeping it.