Consumer Trust in Charity brands
Howard Lake | 26 August 2009 | Blogs
For several months I have been talking with charities (and anyone who cared to listen) about the concept of brand credibility. Historically we got hung up on raising brand awareness as the key catalyst to successful campaigning and fundraising. But credibility is different.
Brand credibility is simply what gives us the right to ask for money or support. It’s not what any charity thinks about themselves, it’s about what values, strengths and competences a charity has in the eyes of its existing and potential supporters. But it’s also ingrained in people’s experience of an organisation and influenced by how the media may have portrayed certain issues or organisations over a long period of time.
These days we absorb information almost by osmosis and the more we see confirmatory messages, even subliminally, the more credibility we associate with the message and the organisation; good or bad.
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Typically, credibility questions individuals will ask themselves include:
“Can these guys actually do what they say they will do?”
“Have they done enough to earn my trust in them?”
Recently, two pieces of research have been published that illustrate the importance of this concept more than ever.
The first is nfp Synergy’s latest Brand Attributes Monitor. This shows that being ‘trustworthy’, ‘honest’ and ‘caring/compassionate’ are still vital attributes for a charity to possess AND EVIDENCE in order to be perceived positively by the public.
Not really surprising but there were significant jumps for ‘supportive’ and ‘sympathetic’ from 2008 results (16% and 12% respectively). How many of us are adapting our communications to evidence that our organisations can be these things? For example, are you sympathising with donors during the recession and offering them alternatives to ensure ongoing support without guilting them into submission (not very supportive)?
Secondly, and my current favourite evidence of the importance of credibility versus awareness, are the results from a poll conducted by YouGov for Marketing Week. This research asked around 1700 UK adults what they thought about financial services and banking brands.
It’s not sensible to pre-judge research results but I admit I expected the banks to get a bashing, given the public perception that they were in no small way responsible for the current recession.
But here’s the crux of credibility. Yes, banks’ popularity is probably at a historical low but nearly two thirds of people would still not consider taking financial services products from non-financial brands, including supermarkets, restaurants, mobile network operators and charities.
In fact, only 6% of respondents said they would consider taking such products from a charity even though we all perceive ourselves to be trustworthy, honest etc.
Why?
I think the answer is clear. M&S, Save the Children and O2 may all be hugely credible in retail, charitable works and providing mobile services but the public does not afford them the right credibility to offer services beyond this experience. Yet. Just look at Tesco’s aborted attempt to sell cars and motorbikes and how cynical passengers still are about the Virgin Trains service.
To reiterate, brand credibility is most often acquired by doing what we do well, repeatedly over a period of time. During these ‘crunch’ times our credibility becomes even more important to our success. I don’t think this means charities should stop developing new ideas; just focus on the ideas which build on the credibility already earned with your target audiences.
Reinforce the fantastic outcomes you can achieve and have delivered in the past. Continue to develop new ideas which build on these approaches AND are directly linked in the minds of your supporters to your credible position in their eyes.
And finally, in these recessional times, consider dropping everything from your plans which doesn’t.
As ever, your thoughts on the topic are most welcome.
ke***@bo*************.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.