Winning back trust when your organisation has lost its way

Have you ever lost trust in a brand that you once prized above all others, and vowed you would never go back? 

Perhaps the organisation tested your patience one too many times or consistently failed to live up to the high standard it had set for itself (which of course inspired your loyalty in the first place).

If this has happened to you, you'll know how disappointing it can be. Fortunately it's nothing personal – rather a sign that you, like many other customers, are noticing cracks that conceal a far bigger and more serious issue.

Sadly, it can take countless lost customers before a brand’s leadership team catch on to the gravity of such a situation. When they finally do, the way they choose to respond can have significant repercussions for the future of the brand and the business.  

When brand trust goes south

It is perplexing when brand executives notice that customer sentiment has negatively shifted and respond defiantly. Sometimes they make excuses or act like they don’t care, which further alienates the very people they’ve already offended. While bizarre, this situation is not uncommon and typically indicates a serious disconnect between executives, staff, the brand, and its customers. 

By contrast, executives who acknowledge brand distrust early and take steps to make restitution can quickly help to steer it back toward success.  

It is easy to find real-life examples of both situations in the marketplace, and even in the same company. Qantas is a timely one: once a highly respected national brand, it suffered several major blows to customer trust and loyalty in the past 15 years. This became most dire in 2022, when seemingly arrogant responses from the brand’s executives to consumer concerns were not met well by the public.  

Only with the resignation of the Qantas CEO and the appointment of a new one has the situation begun to reverse. Especially after the new CEO openly apologised for the airline’s shortcomings and spearheaded a series of changes, which appear to be having a noticeably positive effect on the ground.  

Brand distrust due to poor management and strategy

It can be difficult for loyal company staff to watch disconnected senior executives drive customer trust and loyalty into the ground. But while the situation can seem helpless, there are ways to turn it around.

Often, this starts with the board of directors engaging a third-party to assist; someone with the impartiality, experience, and skill required to dig deep and have the hard conversations no one is having.  

As well as mediating between the board, C-Suite and staff, the adviser should be able to highlight any strategic decisions that are working against the brand. 

There are also many examples of this in the market right now, such as the events unfolding in tertiary education. The rapid shift to digital learning, casualisation of academic staff, and hiking of course fees is fast creating a generation of high school students who hold little respect for a university education at all. 

With the aspirational lifestyle and culture of top universities fading, it’s reasonable for graduates to wonder why they would spend top dollar there when they can get a similar experience almost anywhere else. 

The results of strategic decisions like these are often difficult for leadership to recognise until it’s too late – and the earlier they can get a bird’s eye view of what’s unfolding with customer loyalty, the sooner they can turn it around.   

Rebuilding customer trust and loyalty

If you can see that trust in your brand is suffering, you must take definitive action. Action that resonates with your customers and seeks to heal the disconnect that has caused it in the first place.  

Often, this involves a complete realignment with the original vision and values of the business. Your adviser can assist with this realignment by reminding you of essential questions, such as:

• Why do we exist?
• What do we stand for?
• What are our values?
• What impact are we making?

When there is a commitment from leadership to communicate this realignment to staff and customers through every possible brand touchpoint, it’s likely that brand trust will be restored in time.

Remember, too, that time is key. Even relatively small businesses are akin to big ships with many moving parts, and it can take a while for a pivot to become obvious. Don’t lose heart, though. All you need is a genuine promise from executives to set a new standard (or restore an original one), and everything can begin moving in the right direction.
If you feel your organisation would benefit from working with a highly experienced advisor, ask how RSM can assist. From strategic consulting to internal audits, culture reviews, mediation and more, we're here to help. 

Our goal is to support you in moving beyond disconnected and defensive approaches that will continue to jeopardise brand trust, and towards the challenging conversations and proactive actions that serve to restore it. 
 

 FOR MORE INFORMATION

For a confidential, no-obligation discussion with a skilled business adviser, contact Andrew Bowcher on (02) 6937 7001 or reach out to your local RSM office.