Consumer Relationships

Every interaction a consumer has with a brand builds their opinion on the brand— how helpful and friendly the customer service representative is and how well the company treats their employees are just a few deciding factors. However, the consumer-business relationship is a fragile thing; trust builds with time and can dissolve within minutes.

For nonprofits in particular, trust that it is legitimate and efficient by the public is critical. Hypocrisy and inefficiency in nonprofits fill the news with scandals and rumors. Your organization may not possess these characteristics, but if it is perceived as such by the public then it is just as damaging. In order to avoid hypocrisy, the organization’s message must remain consistent. This refers to every detail of the organization — so if you’re a environmental conservation group and you advertise on a digital billboard that uses 30 times more energy than the average American home then you’re a hypocrite. Bottom line: the public will not take the organization seriously when their actions don’t match their beliefs.

Perceived inefficiency is another reason for others to dislike or distrust an organization. For nonprofits, this occurs when the public believes their donations are wasted or insignificant to help make an “actual change.” Rumors that the CEO of the organization makes millions or other related rumors that imply that the organization’s actual mission is secondary to profit create this attitude.

These attitudes are detrimental to nonprofit’s because they run on donations while standard businesses having similar attitudes only need to be better than competitors.

So how can organizations avoid consumers having ill feelings towards the brand? By being consistent and efficient the organization can build trust with the public while going above and beyond the norm can further build good will.