The GFC of 2008/9 was actually a recession of trust. There was plenty of money.
Banks didn’t trust the other banks to be good for the loans they wanted to take out. Credit seized, businesses were in turn denied loans, the economy contracted. (Strangely there is more money now than ever before but it is harder to get than it has been for a long time.)
Frankly, this was probably a good thing. There was too much cheap credit out there. Although I didn’t experience it there was once a day when you put on your Sunday best to go and see the bank manager to get a mortgage. You wanted the bank manger to trust you to make getting the loan easier.
I got my first mortgage in the office of a mortgage broker wearing jeans and a t-shirt while the broker enthusiastically offered me far more money than I actually needed to buy my house (I took only what I needed). In various real estate bubbles, banks were willing to loan out over 100% of the valuation.
I doubt I could get the same offer today that I was given 7 years ago. But then again our real estate bubble hasn’t popped yet.
In Australia, we aren’t experiencing a recession but it is not the same at the pre GFC days either. Consumers more and more need to trust the people and the businesses they are buying from. If their wallet stays in their pocket then you are poorer for it.
Trust is important in business because your client’s customers and patients are putting their faith in you to buy. Especially the first time. Think about a chiropractor – you have to trust that the chiropractor will fix ‘what ails ya’ otherwise the money is staying your pocket.
You have to trust that the financial planner you choose will actually make you money in excess of their fees so that you have plenty of money for retirement.
Often it requires a leap of faith on behalf of the customer to experience the results. This is like pre-buyer’s remorse. In her book “Fascinate,” Sally Hogshead talks about how to get better engagement from your clients and how to be more interesting to them.
The one that is most relevant to doing a newsletter is frequency. Simply repeatedly showing up is helps build trust. Now there are high trust media and low trust media. (Blogs and social media are trustworthy in the eyes of just 6% of consumers – 2011 Epsilon Chanel Preference Study)
We marketing people love email because it is free. Your customers know it is free which diminishes its value in their eyes. You send them something in the post – they know you are investing in them and spending money on them. It builds obligation to buy from you.
Getting back to frequency. ‘Just’ showing up regularly helps to foster trust in the eyes of your customers. The sooner they trust you the sooner they are going to buy from you. Take heed, newsletters will increase conversion rate of new customers because it accelerates the rate you can build trust.