Today’s most trustworthy brands, may not have the biggest sales or the market share in their categories, however they have created relationships with consumers through experiences that trigger a visceral response.

Once you build trust through branding, you will have a customer for life.

Here is a look at the tactics used by the most trustworthy brands to connect with consumers and how to put that connection to work for your business.

Tactic 1. Get Personal.  The online retailer Amazon is the top in this tactic. With exceptional product accessibility, functionality, and customer experience, they have the ability to create a strong brand that consumers trust. Add to its brand, low prices, free shipping on orders over a minimum total, and one-click ordering, shoppers can save time.  It has a vast array of offerings with user reviews and rating, recommendations based on past purchases and complementary purchase suggestions. By combining all these features, consumers have many options for forging a personal bond with the brand.

Tactic 2. Sell Happiness.  This is the promise of Coca-Cola, the world’s largest beverage maker. Since its inception, the promise of the world’s largest beverage maker has been to delight consumers.  Everything they do is to promote, develop, and create happiness.  They take the ideas of spontaneity and delight and infuse them into everything they do such as their custom vending machines which allow consumers to concoct their favorite combinations of flavor. In addition, they have a deep and healthy respect for their past and for the people that have gone before them.  They never forget why they started and where they came from and this means a lot to consumers.

Tactic 3. Live Up to Your Promise.  Fedex has created a strong corporate identity specifically by being able to achieve what it promises and for the efficiency of its operations. In addition to being seen as reliable, their brand is engendering trust because they recognize it is more than just about the logistics of moving packages and boxes.  They appreciate that people’s treasures, livelihoods, and futures, contained in those packages, mean a lot to people. In order to achieve trustworthiness and reliability, they think of their customer as more than a number, they think of them as a person.

Tactic 4. Keep It Cool and Fun.  While Apple has always been about creativity and expression, the brand has kicked up the emotional quotient by creating retail stores that foster a sense of collaboration and transparency between customers and sales staff.  Apple uses its retail outlets to show, not tell, consumers its brand philosophy.  They use large tables, open spaces, walls of windows, and well-trained associates armed with handheld checkout scanners that enable purchasers to purchase without having to stand in line.

Tactic 5. Design an Experience.  With its sleek, stylish ad campaigns and collaborations with high-end designers, it is easy to forget that Target is a discount store. Target consistently delivers an exceptional retail experience, from store design to merchandise selection to price and customer service, and these further distinguish it from its superstore brethren.

Tactic 6. Stay Consistent. In an era when the only thing that seems certain is change. Ford’s consistent branding has established the company as a beacon of reliability.  Ford’s refusal to take government bailout money is seen by many as evidence of the company’s integrity.  Once you have developed a unique and compelling value proposition for your brand, don’t change the logo, tag line, and messaging on a frequent basis; stay consistent with your message and repeat it over and over.

Tactic 7. Can-Do Attitude. Nike has always been extremely customer-focused with a broad access point that makes the brand relevant to elite athletes as well as the everyday person. Nike’s constant product development including introducing technologies such as Nike Air cushioning and Dri-fit fabrics is one of its biggest strengths.  When you are innovative, consumers are more trusting because they think you really know what you are doing.

Tactic 8. Forge Connections. Starbucks has gotten much more in touch with the reason they are here and that is to help create connections.  From the free Wi-Fi to the in-store music to the large tables with room for groups and meetings, the company’s stores are designed to help customers interact.  Everything in the store is about connection, discovery, inspiration, and creation.  Startups should note the company’s innovative approach which has enabled it to set the agenda in a category that has been around for centuries. If you are an entrepreneur entering a category, maybe you can’t set the agenda but if you can redirect that agenda,that is how you win.  If you are going to enter a category and be a “me too” player, don’t bother.

Tactic 9. Serve Up the Quirky. Southwest has always been a very independent brand that is quick to break the norms of the airline industry. From the seating assignments to the fact that it doesn’t list in many of the big online reservation systems, it has always prided itself on being very different.  They fly one kind of airplane, don’t charge for baggage, and have friendly employees.  The magic of Southwest is that even though the brand has many unique elements, all the different pieces work together to serve its customers in a unique way.

Tactic 10. Focus on the Customer. When mythic stories circulate about your company’s awesome customer service, you know you are doing something right.  That is the hallmark of this upscale department store which is rumored to have once graciously accepted the return of a set of tires even though the store has never sold tires.  What makes the Nordstrom brand tick is the service experience, not the approach.  Nordstrom has never focused on its company or its people; all of that positive energy is directed at the customer and the retail experience and that is the secret to their success.

By following these tactics with your business, you have the secrets to gaining, keeping, and using trust to build competitive differentiation, create price elasticity, attract more affluent clients, and inspire referrals.

By building trust in an understandably untrusting world, you have the ability to attract more business and earn more profits.

In closing, be sure to Read More of my Posts about Internet Marketing at my aspenIbiz blog; Obtain Some Tips About Being No 1 on Google at aspenIbiz My Go-To-Market Partners website; and Learn How to be Savvy with Your Money Like the Insiders at aspenIbiz The Conspiracy For Your Money Blog.

I Hope You Enjoy the Posts and I Trust You Will Find Them Insightful!  Let me Know What You Think.

Be sure to share this post with anyone that you think would benefit from this message… thanks!