There has been a big shift in the way that we unlock assets – from knowledge, to products, to experiences. As a result, businesses and the way that they communicate with staff and customers has changed. A company’s online footprint and digital reputation now plays an integral role in the space where commerce and culture overlap.
There’s a whole host of businesses already using trust to facilitate their businesses. You can now find services via recommendations for everything from investments (Kickstarter), to crafts (Etsy) and travel (Airbnb). These companies all use the power of technology to build trust between strangers, says global thought leader on the collaborative economy Rachel Botsman: “They are built on personal relationships rather than empty transactions”, she said at a recent TED talk. “I’ve looked at thousands of these marketplaces, and trust and efficiency are always the critical ingredients.”
Peer-to-peer platform Airbnb is a good example of how technology combined with trust is creating a market for things that never even had a marketplace before. Founder Joe Gebbia argues that for such a model to work, strong design is crucial: “In art school you learn that design is much more than the look and feel of something. It’s the whole experience. We were aiming to build Olympic trust between people who have never met.”
During his TED talk, Gebbia asked everyone in the room to hand their phone to the person on their left as a trust exercise. Everyone was nervous, and he challenged this by saying that they’d be less nervous if they had seen data proving that the person next to them was good at holding phones: “I’ve learned that you can take the components of trust, and you can design for that. Design can overcome our most deeply rooted stranger-danger bias. And that’s amazing to me.”
But how do use design to build trust, with just the right amount of disclosure? Too much and prospective customers are put off. Too little and they are nervous. We have to get the balance just right with how much we share publicly, and the same is true of all businesses and endeavours. But it is guaranteed that there has been a long-term shift in how we build reputations online. “Virtual trust will transform the way we trust one another face to face,” Botsman says. “It’s only a matter of time before we’ll be able to perform a Facebook- or Google-like search and see a complete picture of someone’s behaviours in different contexts over time.”
If you are a fleet manager or small business owner, there are lots of ways that this trend could be of benefit to you. It could encourage people to use your services if your reputation becomes better than that of your competitors, and then turn those customers into regulars. If you have a large team or are hiring, a skills-based recommendation system (that’s more sophisticated than LinkedIn) could replace CVs entirely and help you find the right fit for your company. This works in favour of both you, as your prospective employee can check out your company’s rating too.
We are approaching a time where reputation will become your most valuable asset, both in business and in your personal life. Make sure you think about how your company could benefit from this sharing economy to stay ahead of the curve and build trust with customers, old and new.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Kia Fleet sponsor of the Guardian Small Business Network Accessing Expertise hub.
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