Posted on May 14, 2012

How to Inject Confidence into Your Marketing

Photo by Michaela Kobyakov

Confidence and branding go together like peas and carrots.

In a hurray and not sure where to eat? You know what to expect from a fast-food chain.

Most fast-food restaurants rely on consistency and predictability to create confidence. It’s the foundation of their brand and what customers expect no matter where or when they place an order.

Confidence overcomes inertia. It helps people make decisions.

It also plays an important role for investors in the stock market. An often-quoted statement is: “The market can handle good news and bad news. But it can’t handle uncertainty.”

If uncertainty creates volatility, confidence creates stability. It helps to overcome doubt.

But beware of false confidence. That eventually leads to permanent abandonment by everyone, due to lack of trust.

For confidence to be effective, it must be genuine, factual, and consistent. Results matter.

The Value of Confidence

As a differentiating value, Confidence means assurance; an expression or feeling of trust or certainty.

For confidence to be useful, it must be kept in balance. Over-confidence can be dangerous. So can under-confidence. Healthy confidence is a balance of optimism and realism.

When you, your company, or your brand exudes confidence, it will feed the confidence of others. Confidence is contagious.

It’s emotional.

However, unlike soft emotions, such as happiness or amusement, confidence triggers a rational response. When we feel confident, we believe in the selected item or topic. It becomes almost factual.

This is where a benefit exists in business. Marketers who embrace the value of confidence can build momentum for growth. It’s like giving the business a shot of adrenalin.

Injecting Confidence into Marketing

To build a business or a brand, marketers must wrestle with maintaining consistency while constantly adapting to change. It’s quite a conflict.

Confidence can be the unique agent in the marketing mx that keeps it all together. But it is not to be embraced lightly. It often needs to be injected into the various parts of the business.

A useful acronym to describe the universe of players in any business is C.E.O.S. – Customers, Employees, Owners, and Significant others (spouses, suppliers, and other supporters).

So, to inject confidence into your marketing consider these 4 groups:

1) Customers. To inject confidence into customers, only make promises you can deliver on – consistently. Trust is built over time. Then make it easy for customers to share their confidence with others. That’s the best way to spread authentic confidence.

2) Employees. To inject confidence into employees, be crystal clear on what you expect from them. Recognize them when they deliver against expectations AND when they also highlight misalignment of values and make adjustments. A willingness to forgive builds internal confidence. Finally, remember to highlight how employee efforts are linked to results. Understanding strengthens confidence.

3) Shareholders. To inject confidence into shareholders, be honest with results – the good, the bad, and the ugly. And just like with employees, be clear on what you are asking of them, and why. Resist telling them what you think they want to hear. Be open with what they need to hear, and how they can make a difference.

4) Significant Others. To inject confidence into spouses, suppliers, and other supporters, share the love. Be transparent and be consistent with your messaging. And remember to live by your values. The quickest killer of confidence comes from a disconnect between what you say and what you do.

If/when you fail (and we all do), acknowledge it, accept the consequences, and re-adjust to be consistent with your values again. Your purpose is more important than perfection.

Marketers with confidence don’t worry about protecting their job. They remain focused on their C.E.O.S. Over time, marketers who embrace the value of confidence rise above the crowd and are acknowledged for being trustworthy – and delivering results.