Kickstarter was hacked.
Customer data was stolen.
Trust was lost.
This hurt kickstarted, but it also hurt all those who have projects they’re seeking to get backed. In fact one of my good friends is trying to get an album funded. He seemed to launch the Kickstarter the day of the hack.
Trust is the most important thing you can gain as a business when it comes with dealing with customers. More than cash-flow or profit margin, if there is no trust, there is no business. When you and I trust a business or a brand, we willingly take a risk with them. Everything is ultimately a risk because we often have to pay (time, money or our influence) before we see any benefit from the transaction.
Without trust, there is a heightened sense of unease about our transaction and this turns people away from “backing” a project. The result is a dead end road that not many return from.
Without trust, it’s nearly impossible to grow.
It’s the most important thing entrepreneurs and leaders need to work on. You can’t buy trust. Those who are sharp understand that trust is built faster with those who have complaints than those who are happy with your product.
You see trust and growth are interconnected in so many ways. You can’t have one without the other. If you feel like your team, your company or the service you offer is having a tough time growing, try focusing a bit more on building and growing trust. It’s one of the toughest things to gain in business and among the easiest things to loose. Trust is the difference between the successful startup and the bankrupt hobbyist.
There’s no substitute for trust and you’re not the only one in charge of building it. There are partners, distributors, resellers, employees, and countless of other factors that play into your “trust-ability.” You need to help them understand the importance as well and partner with those who have a great track record of trust.
Trust may be free, but will cost you everything.
