Corporate trust

I can't recall a summer in recent times when we haven't heard about stranded holiday makers and distraught families facing the prospect of staying at home because a holiday company has gone bust and not paid their bills.

We've all heard or retold the story of being ripped off by a tradesman who failed to do the job properly but took the money anyway and various forms of the con man who lies, cheats and destroys lives has been in existence forever.

So distrust in businesses has always been there but it seemed it was limited to small businesses, run by one or two dodgy characters with the unhelpful advice from well-meaning friends along the lines of 'you get what you pay for' or 'should have gone to a bigger more established company.'

But that has all changed.

It all came to a head with the banks doing unscrupulous things for the sake of profits and bonuses, then News International grabbed the headlines with their somewhat dubious journalistic methods.

More recently the BBC has been the recipient of our questioning looks, first with editorial decisions over the Savile documentary, then its unsavoury reporting of alleged child abuse by a former politician and now because it seems many turned a blind eye to Savile's appalling behaviour at the time it was happening.

And just when it looked like bankers and media had cornered the market in corporate distrust we hear that horse meat has entered the food chain and no one knows how.

What is any business without the trust of its consumers?

What kind of individuals are running businesses and making decisions that are turning global brands into Corporate Cons?

Is the Corporate Con on the agenda in boardrooms around the world? Do executives sit in their leather chairs laughing when they hear that their customers have been so stupid as to fall for their latest product/service/advice?

As a consumer it is starting to feel like it and I know I am not alone in wondering just who can we trust to provide the goods we want or provide information that we can believe in.

It seems that what was once the 'con man' is now a sophisticated global business.

Trust has got to be at the heart of every business. Without it they are damaged and we as consumers are left confused.

You build trust through conversation, story telling, leadership, transparency and demonstrating that you really believe what you say on your website. But it has to be proactive. It's no use waiting until the finger is pointed at you and then defending your position, you need to ensure that the finger doesn't get pointed in the first place.

Of course it is all made so much easier if you really are a business that your customers can trust and I wonder how many businesses need to take a look at themselves and they way they operate if they want to look their customers in the eye and say 'You can trust us'.

Don't think you can get away with just saying it and not doing it. A certain Mr Lance Armstrong did that and thought he'd got away with but apart from the damage he has done to his own reputation he is now facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit for tainting those he deceived who are accusing him of fraud.

To every business large and small, ensure that your systems, processes, and ethics are in place and then tell your story because we need a few more businesses we can trust in right now.