Trust is so important when a pet owner is considering a business to take care of their pet or provide a product for their pet.

So how do you go about building it? There’s a formula you can follow called The Trust Equation and I’m exploring it on this week’s podcast.

Created by management consultant David Maister in the 1990s, it’s made up of four components.

The first three are credibility, reliability and intimacy, three things that will help people feel confident about working with you or using your product.

The final is self-orientation, or how self interested you appear to be, and this can undo all the good work in creating credibility, reliability and intimacy.

Listen on the player link below to see how this applies to your pet business, with real examples from people using the different components.

Key topics and timings in this episode: 

0:20 - Introduction to the trust equation, what is is and how it relates to pet businesses.

3.12 - How Google's zero moments of truth study fits into the trust equation in relation to creating trust, credibility and reliability.

4.26 - The three parts of Google’s ZMOT and how we have to spend 7 hours with a person or brand, with 11 interactions and in four places.

5.40 - How the Credibility element of the Trust Equation works with an example of Zoe Willingham from Best Behaviour Dog Training.

7.42 - How the Reliability element of the Trust Equation works with an example from Sandra Emmons from Happipup.

9.52 - How the Intimacy element of the Trust Equation works with examples from Kim O’Donnell from Leo, Charley and Me, Sarah Mills from Albie’s Boutique and Aileen Stevenson from the  Perfect Puppy company.

13.30 - How the Self Orientation element of the Trust Equation works and how we can undo all the good work by coming over as being self interested.

15.00 - Case study from my experience of working with Janet Murray and how the Trust Equation works in action.

20.07 - Case study number 2 - Sarah from Albie’s Boutique.

24.40 - How the content you put out there builds your credibility with an example from Niki French from Pup Talk.

26.27 - Recap over Case Studies Zoe, Sandra, Aileen, Sarah, Kim and Niki.

27.31 - Why we have to be visible and how the ‘rule of seven’ where customers need seven interactions to buy (this is from the 1930s) has changed.

28.02 - What to do if you’d like to work together on this in my Pets Get Visible membership

Links mentioned in this episode:

Is my Pets Get Visible membership right for you.

See my interview with Zoe from Best Behaviour Dog Training

Read Sandra from Happipup’s story

Learn how Aileen from The Perfect Puppy Company creates meaningful content

Check out the chat with Niki from Pup Talk

Learn more about Kim from Leo, Charley and Me

And see Sarah from Albie’s Boutique share her story here