Suppose a stranger walks up and makes a cold introduction, and among the first things they say to you is:
“You can trust me.”
How would you feel about that?
I often ask this as part of the talks I give about marketing messaging, and the response I most commonly receive is:
“That would actually make me trust them less.”
Same here.
Why, then, would it be any different when we’re hearing/watching/reading a marketing message from a business we don’t yet know?
“Trust us to…”
“A trusted name since…”
“A name you can trust.”
Says who? You?
Consider that the large percentage of other advertisers are all saying something similar. So if you’re a consumer, and “everyone” says you can trust them, who are you supposed to believe? Or at the very least, where’s the differentiation in that?
It used to be that some measure of perceived credibility came with just out-shouting the local competition. But it’s getting harder and harder to buy people’s trust. They have too many choices, and more are coming.
Try this instead:
Rather than just declaring, “You can trust us,” tell me a real story that illustrates why.
And then share another.
And another.
At the very least, you’ll achieve differentiation. Quickly.
Because most of your competitors are likely not going to change.
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