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Market Share is Trust Materialized
Published on 13/03/07
by willpate
I love when a high placed, respected marketing person comes along and validates what I’ve told hundreds of companies over the last few few years. When they boil it down into a simple, inarguable point, it’s all the better. James Stengel, Global Marketing Officer at Procter and Gamble, recently said this brilliant little quote.
Market share is trust materialized.
This is something a lot of companies frankly are not prepared for. Earning and keeping people’s trust is not an easy job. You can’t do it with glossy marketing and a token Corporate Social Responsibility rep, it takes company-wide commitment to deserving people’s trust. Having a community manager or ambassador is just the start, they’re a membrane - not a magical antibody that creates a healthy organism.
That's it. What Next?
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Comments on Market Share is Trust Materialized
4 Responses
Evan Hamilton
14/03/07
Amen!
Anyone who thinks they can “market themselves” as socially responsible, caring, and/or hip is dead wrong. You have to actually be those things…and then people will gladly use your product, give you money, and evangelize your company.
Someday they’ll all learn and we’ll be honored with parades and medals.
That or we’ll be poor ex-community ambassadors living in caves on some island.
Whatever. It’s still fun to help create a product and company that people care about.
-Evan
Clay
15/03/07
That’s a great quote, I just wish it were actually true in all industries. Unfortunately companies that are not trustworthy can still be extremely successful - Wal-Mart and Sony are two great examples of companies that have huge market shares in their relative industries, but based on recent behaviour, are not trustworthy at all.
In fact, in the classes I taught at university, I used to ask my students about companies that had been found guilty of violating corporate laws (e.g. the Forzani Group with Sportchek) and most people said they would still shop at those stores.
I suppose the bigger a company gets, the less work they have to do to maintain their credibility among their customers?
Mind you, as consumers and advocates, we can continue to hold companies accountable for their actions. Eventually (I hope), things will change.
Lloyd Budd
20/03/07
I agree with Clay. It is hardly inarguable, and I wish it was more often true.
How about Microsoft the convicted monopolist?
Trust in the people behind a product is not as important in all industries.
Market share reflects the product and the competitions’ products much more than the company.
Lloyd Budd
21/03/07
At least if one is concerned about trust, you know you are on a healthy path to success.
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