Trust is the Key

If one were to ask multiple married couples what is the one ingredient they believe is necessary to sustain a happy marriage, my guess is the answer that would be given most is "love." What would be the answer if a very similar question - What is the one ingredient above all others that is necessary to sustain a positive relationship? - were posed to business persons and customers. I asked this question of the more than 30 students in the undergraduate-level business class that I am teaching. The responses, though interesting, turned out not to be all that varied. "Trust" and "credibility" were, buy far, the leading responses. Other responses, included "credibility," "reasonable prices" and "positive ethics."

All these were and are good answers. What they have in common is the fact they revolve around the major focus of this blog: communication." Successful communicators are honest. They do not set out to mislead or misinform or even bluff their way through a ticklish situation or encounter. People shop where they shop because, in part, they believe the shops where they wish to spend money are reliable and appreciate the coming of those they seek to serve. Feeding into this is the notion is the perception of customers that they desire sincerity coupled with truth. In essence, businesses should ideally be truth-zones.

As one of my students wrote, "The most important factor between a business and a customer would be trust because without it the business would not be able to exist." That says it all. The same applies to all relationships. Trust is the essential key. One generates and maintains it via their behavior and what they communicate. If their credibility is lost, it is no doubt because of how they have behaved and what they have put forth via actions and words. My unscientific poll reaffirms the importance people place on communicating honestly.