Chapter 6: Trust Is the Honey that Feeds Brand Success
Learn how brands build trust through consistent, positive customer interactions.
Like Trust, Honey Requires the Right Conditions
Honey doesn’t just “happen.” It needs the right conditions. Similarly, brands can’t build trust without nurturing the internal environment.
The process to create honey (trust) is slow. But the impact is real.
Bees must visit millions of flowers. They show up, again and again, to get the job done. Marketing works the same. Every customer interaction is a trust-building opportunity. Collectively, all the interactions add up to provide collective trust for the brand.
To make one pound of honey, bees collectively must visit over 2 million flowers and fly 55,000 miles. For brands, millions of customer touch points are needed to make results.
Bees store their honey so they’re stocked up during difficult times. Likewise consistent positive brand interactions can help a brand stay afloat, even during rough markets.
Does this really work? Sure, check out Chewy’s strategy.
When a customer loses a pet, Chewy’s team sends handwritten condolence cards—or even custom pet portraits—completely unprompted. The cost is minimal. The loyalty it creates for pet owners? Immeasurable. Chewy doesn’t just build trust with ads; they build it by creating customer interaction that matters.
You Can’t Fake Customer Experience
The old saying rings true: actions speak louder than words. A brand’s real-life behavior will influence its customers more than its advertising. Brand trust is earned by consistent actions and experiences.
In other words, good PR comes from delivering on your brand promises. Trust is a cross-functional output. Marketing can amplify it—but can’t fabricate it.
Related hive blogs
Chapter 1: Introducing the Hive Experience
Chapter 2: Vision Rules the Hive
How do we know? United Airlines learned the hard way.
Their PR team spent millions on image campaigns. Yet a single video of a passenger being violently dragged from a flight became a symbol of corporate coldness. No marketing message could erase the real-world visual proof of a broken culture.
Maintenance Makes the Hive (Brand)
Unlike honey, brands can spoil. To prevent brand spoilage a thriving customer perception fueled by consistently good customer interactions is crucial. This is where maintaining the brand comes into play.
To maintain brand values and good reputations, brands must stay vigilant. They need checks and balances, honest conversations, and a willingness to adapt before things sour.
But how does this work for brands in real life?
Let’s look at how REGROUP used our “Find Truth. Build Trust. Power Growth.” approach to help our client Pittsburgh Water keep fresh and avoid spoiling.
– We ran an Attitude and Awareness study to find what the true feelings of constituents and stakeholders were (Find Truth).
– Simplified name to Pittsburgh Water with a new PGH2O logo to be used in unison for consistency; clearing up confusion.
– Created the “Tap In” campaign to show the improvements Pittsburgh Water was making to shareholders and the public. “Tap In” addressed the main concerns we found in the Attitude and Awareness study (Build Trust).
– The campaign established the foundation for public trust rebuilding and aligned staff and stakeholders behind a unified brand promise and voice (Power Growth).
Conclusion: Trust – Sweet, Sweet Fuel that Powers the Hive.
Trust is what your brand produces. Everything else is a byproduct.
· A sale is a transaction.
· A campaign is a story.
· But trust is the outcome that outlasts both.
Trust isn’t bought, it’s built. Brands earn it over time, over touch points, and over every layer of the customer journey.
Once customers say, “I trust you. I tell others. I come back.”—your brand has made honey. And that’s the sweetest result of all.
Are you ready to REGROUP?
REGROUP is a full-service, independent brand transformation agency. We help complex organizations gain alignment under one unified marketing strategy through our brand and performance solutions.
Andre Mello is the VP of Engagement and Growth at REGROUP. With over 25 years of marketing experience in the franchise and financial services sectors, Andre is passionate about creating thriving hives. Reach out to him directly.
Related hive blogs
Chapter 1: Introducing the Hive Experience
Chapter 2: Vision Rules the Hive
Chapter 3: Why Employees Are the Lifeblood of Brand Experience
Chapter 4: Worker Bees Continued — The Customer
