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What are the best brands doing to stay relevant, build trust, and create content smarter?
At Share Your Genius, we have the same questions, so we're tapping the best in the space for their answers—one voicemail at a time.
Join us each week for quick hits of insights from b2b marketers and leaders.
[00:00:09] Amanda Smith: You know how during a big transition, like new leadership, a rebrand, a market shift, we rush to get the messaging right.
[00:00:18] Well, I met Dr. Jennie Victoriano, Director of Professional Development at Commitment2Change. And I thought, this is the person I need to talk to about this. And why is that? It's because she believes trust isn't a nice to have. It's the currency of transformation. And in marketing, leadership, or change management, if you don't have that foundational trust, your message will not land. Who cares if it's the perfect message? Transparency, empathy, and character are what make that message come to life. So I asked her, how can teams use trust in periods of transformation?
[00:01:03] Here's what she had to say.
[00:01:14] Dr. Jennie Victoriano: Hi Amanda. Thank you for asking such an important question. How can teams use trust in periods of transformation? And for me personally, trust is the currency of transformation, especially in times of transition. It's been my experience that people don't need to necessarily trust you to hear you, but if you wanna speak into someone's life to influence real change, then trust is non-negotiable. And that's just as true in marketing as it is in leadership and coaching. We live in an information rich world.Anyone can collect data, we can all Google best practices or, product information. We can all kind of figure things out for ourselves online. But what makes a message resonate is not just the data, it's the delivery, and more importantly, the context. People need to help understand themselves, their environment, and how the information, product, or services applies to their life personally. That takes empathy, it takes humility, and it takes trust.
[00:02:10] When the market shifts, the instinct is often to lead with messaging, but if the foundation isn't trust, the message will fall flat. Internally, trust helps teams feel safe enough to be honest and creative and collaborative in the marketing message. But also externally, it helps consumers feel seen and respected, not just sold to.
[00:02:30] When I was growing up, the cliche salesman was the used car salesman, right? And it's all about the sale. And I think marketing has transitioned over the years to be more meaningful and impactful in the consumer's life, and I think we can't lose that.
[00:02:47] I think we need to hang onto that and foster that type of thinking in marketing. For me, trust starts with transparency and authenticity. That means being honest about what's changing, how it might affect your consumer and what you're doing to support them through it. Lean in to the conversation. Don't mask it with slogans and things that might not be authentic. Consumers don't expect perfection. They expect honesty, consistency in a sense that, we're listening. So we lead with clear communication, not just what we're doing, but why we're doing it.
[00:03:20] The second thing is we double down on value. In times of change, people are more discerning. About where they're gonna spend their time and money. So instead of just selling, we aim to serve. That might mean we offer free resources, more accessible customer service, or simply creating content that acknowledges what they're going through and offers meaningful support.
[00:03:40] Finally, it may be most importantly, we need to just stay human. Look, we're consumers too. People don't just trust brands, they trust the people behind the brands, and I think people have said that over and over again. But what does that really mean? Well, our teams need to show up with empathy. That means empathy in our messaging, understanding what the consumer's going through. That can be as simple as saying, we know this is a tough time. Here's how we're showing up for you. And it's less about controlling the narrative and more about showing character. My experience has also been that character is always revealed. So if we're not walking the talk, if we're not being true to the message we're sending in marketing, it's gonna come out and consumers are gonna ultimately experience that.
[00:04:23] Thanks again, Amanda. I really hope I get to talk to you soon.
[00:04:34] Amanda Smith: Thank you for listening. Want your podcast to do more? Subscribe to Genius Cuts because it's never just a podcast.