Trust must be earned and granted

Having been on the credit union, bank and vendor side of financial services, I have a somewhat unique view of the industry. One thing I have noticed, is that the word “trust” is grossly overused in financial services and may in fact be misunderstood. With our current political divides, numerous cases of sexual harassment and questionable claims posted in social media tagged as “fake news,” I really wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts on “trust.”

First, let’s look at the traditional definition of trust. According to Dictionary.com, trust is defined as: “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence. Something committed or entrusted to one’s care for use or safekeeping.”

It should be no surprise that trust is, in my opinion, the most critical element of healthy brands. Common thinking is that trust is “earned” through actions. Sure, but regardless of whatever process we put people or brands through, for trust to truly be earned, it is fundamentally up to you or me to grant them our trust (or not), and then to continue to trust them (or not). So, while we work to earn trust, the real empowerment sits with those that grant trust.

When someone tells me to trust them, frankly, I don’t. Odds are that you feel the same way. Perhaps we’re becoming too cynical, but I think we can agree that trust is more easily violated than earned. Therefore, we hold reservation before granting it. In a world of “fake news” and scandal, are consumers becoming ever more skeptical? It’s fair to assume so, and I think this has an impact on how credit unions must present themselves.

It’s critical that you drive transparency throughout your organizational culture. If you want loyal members, then you need to build a transparent brand. If your credit union isn’t transparent, members will hunt for information elsewhere, and in this digital age, this is rather easy to do. A transparent brand is viewed as genuine, and no brand can be viewed as trustworthy without being genuine.

So how do you build trust and have trust granted to you? I’m not sure there is a science to it, but I do believe brands that tap human nature are the most genuine, and therefore most worthy of my trust. With that in mind, here are four ways I believe are logical to being transparent and genuine, while building trust. Just think about these simple points and define them in your own way.

The irony is that while we want members to grant trust, we can’t take trust for granted. Trust me on that.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.