There are many ways to achieve success as an e-commerce brand with techniques such as email marketing, search engine optimization and social media marketing being some of the methods used by marketers to help get a brand in the public eye. One of the most important aspects that e-commerce brands need to consider is the ability to build transparency with their customers. This can improve customer loyalty and satisfaction, as well as improve a brand’s reputation.
Transparency has become crucial for e-commerce businesses. With 86% percent of American customers believing that transparency from businesses is more important than ever, it means that a focus now needs to be put on this and it is getting to the point that it could be considered the most important aspect of marketing.
Within this article, we will explore how and why transparency has become so important for e-commerce businesses and what they need to do to reach the expectations of their audience. Continue reading to see how you can improve your e-commerce brand and become a global success.
What is Brand Transparency?
How a brand presents itself in the public eye is crucial in its success. When it’s presented as genuine or authentic, it becomes more widely accessible by customers as they gain a deeper level of trust in the brand. The goal is to get customers to return time and time again, which can create positive word-of-mouth marketing and strengthen your reputation. This is great for generating a consistent revenue stream.
Being honest with your brand’s message and letting your core audience be aware of what you stand for is often the main factor when it comes to transparency. Clear communication is the most effective way of being honest with your customer base, as you should want them to understand your brand’s beliefs with clarity. An effective strategy to use for this is influencer marketing, but using influencers that are recognized as every day, normal people. These can advertise your brand’s product or service in the most transparent way.
Transparency results in higher trust levels and with 81% of buyers relying on trust when it comes to ordering from a brand, it has become a crucial marketing strategy element.
Why is Brand Transparency Important?
Even though brand transparency has always been relevant in creating a bond between customers and a brand, there has been more emphasis on this in recent years with more customers being curious about policies and practices practiced by businesses.
Cultural connection is one of the biggest contributing factors when it comes to building a strong level of brand transparency, as it connects customers with a business based on important culture standpoints. Participating in ongoing conversations about cultural happenings can be powerful for brands that are looking to form a stronger connection with their audience. External factors are always going to impact brands, so when they happen it’s important to be open and honest about your stance without causing any offence.
Social media transparency is also very important for brands. This is the practice of openly disclosing information and processes to your social media audience, which can help to foster trust and accountability that will make customers develop trust in your brand. The deliberate and authentic sharing of information is one of the best ways for brands to utilize social media.
Brands also need to develop trust with those who aren’t so tech savvy, as not everyone is quick with adapting to new technologies and getting on the social media bandwagons. For example, Millennials’ value systems shifted from that of their parents and older generations so will want brands to be transparent using older methods.
Where is Brand Transparency Needed?
There are specific situations and places where you will need brand transparency to at its strongest. With the internet being such a big factor in changing the landscape of e-commerce, it has made social media the main place where brands can show their transparency with customers.
As of April 2024, Instagram has over 2 billion monthly active users and is most popular with the demographic age of 25 to 34. This has made it a vital component of social media marketing for brands looking to grow their online presence. Over 200 million brands are now using Instagram for this reason, as it allows them to fully display their transparency with their customers.
Examples of Brand Transparency
When you’re learning about brand transparency and looking to incorporate it into your marketing strategy, it’s always good to look at examples of other brands. How brands can be transparent differs depending on the type of audience they have and are looking to get. Let’s take a look at some of these examples:
Zappos
Internal operations are often kept out of the eye line of the public and tend to be kept behind closed doors. However, Zappos takes the untraditional route of keeping vendors in the loop with what’s going on by giving them access to information that isn’t typically shared by other e-commerce businesses, such as data analytics. Zappos Insights is an entire department within the company that is dedicated to offering onsite tours of their facilities, as they aim to be as transparent as they can be with their customers and clients.
Buffer
Both internal and external transparency is very important to Buffer. They are a social media management solution business that aims to define their culture and put together a list of values that allows them to be as transparent as possible with their customers. Their second core value is “Default to Transparency”, which is evidently practiced due to them having a whole page dedicated to transparency and why it is so important to their ethos.
Camden & Co
Smaller businesses must be transparent with their customers and that is one thing that Camden & Co strives for. Their Instagram page is the best example of their transparency with customers, as they only upload imagery that is taken of the authentic products with no editing or signs of fake products being used. This type of promotion is something that a lot of brands don’t consider but it can be very effective for building a trusting relationship with customers.
Final Thoughts
Succeeding in e-commerce isn’t easy, as brands need to consider a large variety of things to ensure that they stay ahead of the competition and form a regular customer base that helps they gain regular profits. Being transparent with customers is very important for brand success, as establishing trust, creating connections and showing authenticity can make your brand stick out and be considered reliable.
There are several ways that you can show transparency with your customers with social media being the main player in this due to the amount of people that now own social media accounts. Using Instagram to promote your services or products seems to be the most effective strategy when it comes to showing transparency, as you can get more eyes on your core values which can help with getting the audience you desire.
About the Author
After completing a University degree in Journalism, Darcy Fowler has dedicated a lot of time to learning about the dynamic world of ecommerce; working in multiple sectors while continuing to broaden her knowledge. Darcy is determined to provide interesting and insightful content with the hope of inspiring others.
