Make trust a priority

Richard Madden hit the nail on the head with his article on brand trust (MW October 20). Banks are, of course, front of mind when we think of issues of trust and it’s great to see Sir Richard Branson announcing that ethics will be at the core of Virgin’s bid for Northern Rock we live in hope that all banks now see the necessity of this.

But every business should have the pursuit of trust at its heart. Unfortunately, we’re not there yet. We frequently see businesses desperate to instigate employee or customer engagement programmes when the going gets tough, and often as a consequence of short-sighted cutbacks.
But a solution that offers a programme operating in isolation is not an effective long-term solution. Companies should be engaging through trust

That culture should be alive and kicking in every touchpoint of the business, both external and internal, because the most fabulous, award-winning piece of advertising is all for nothing if the real-life experience your customers and employees have of the brand is far removed from this.

Julian Pullan, president EMEA,
Jack Morton Worldwide