In the previous column, I wrote about the concept of trust from the perspective of consumer psychology. We described it as capital (behavioral economics), but also as a promise (reduction of cognitive effort), and saw why it matters when crisis knocks on the consumer’s door (and that knocking is becoming louder).
Trust and crisis
You cannot, after a crisis, say “Sorry, we had to take care of our ROI and margins” and continue as if nothing happened. Consumers will give you a chance, but only if you truly change your behavior. If you have lost trust in a way that shows you don’t really care, or that you don’t understand changes in consumers, it is unlikely you will ever fully regain it. But in crisis, we can show who we really are (“A friend in need is a friend indeed,” proverbs are our universal collective wisdom). After the crisis, only one thing matters: did people trust you when it was hardest.
How to maintain trust in crisis – recommendations
I have already mentioned permacrisis as the reality around us. This is not one crisis that will pass, they overlap and follow one another. There is no break, no time for regeneration and recovery. “It can’t get under the skin anymore” as a client recently put it. Neither for brands nor for consumers.
What worked in stable times does not work in crises. I can speak from both experiential (after all, I have over 30 years in the industry) and psychological perspectives (mainly cognitive-behavioral psychology and neuromarketing) about what we have learned from past crises.
1. Consistency
Consistency today is more important than spectacularity. More important than the best seasonal campaign.
In crises, the brain does not seek excitement. It seeks predictability, as the primary defense mechanism against chaos (and uncertainty). If a brand changes messages, values, prices or positioning every time “the wind blows from a different direction,” the consumer’s brain has no chance to build a shortcut. And trust is a mental shortcut.
Instead of viral campaigns, build predictability. Be consistent in tone, visuals and messages. Become recognizable, even if that means being “boring.” Because familiar is safe. And safe is what the brain trusts.
2. Transparency and stance build resilience
Paul J. Zak showed that transparency literally activates reward centers in the brain. Transparency is also a biological mechanism for building trust.
Communicate changes transparently and show vulnerability: when you raise prices, explain why; when you are late, explain why; when you make mistakes, admit them.
“Stay silent and they won’t notice” is the worst strategy in a crisis. Silence is no longer neutral. Consumers now expect brands to take a stance. They expect them to speak up and show where they stand, what their values are, what is happening. This is especially true for younger generations. Edelman research shows that 70% of Gen Z believes media do not tell the truth, which puts even more pressure on brands to be vocal and honest. Their loyalty is lower and they cancel more easily.
If a brand remains silent, consumers will fill the gap themselves, usually with the worst possible scenario. They will draw their own conclusions, and those conclusions are rarely favorable. Silence today is interpreted as indifference, cowardice, an attempt to avoid responsibility. And we do not like such people or brands around us.
3. Humanity instead of perfection
In times of crisis, perfection feels false, distant and hypocritical. Because we know nothing is perfect, especially not in a crisis. When a brand behaves as if it is, a gap forms between perception and reality, and the brain registers that gap as deception.
Brands should also show vulnerability, honestly communicate what is difficult for them. Vulnerability shows you are human, present and real. Small, human mistakes such as a sincere apology for delays, admitting you don’t know something, or showing the people behind the brand can increase sympathy.
Show people and process, imperfection and empathy. Show that you understand what consumers are going through. That you are not detached from reality. Research shows that vulnerability, especially when you are perceived as competent, increases trust. If you communicate with consumers with respect and understanding, you gain something no budget can buy, trust that lasts.
4. Values are more than decoration, they are the operating system
Many brands presented themselves before the crisis as friends of consumers, wonderful campaigns, touching messages, perfectly polished social media profiles.
Then the crisis came. And it showed what lies behind those perfect facades. Some raised prices without justification. Some laid off people overnight. Some stayed silent when they should have spoken. Some spoke when they should have stayed silent. And consumers saw and remembered.
When everything is uncertain (market, politics, future), people look for an anchor. A brand with clear and consistent values becomes that anchor. Before making a difficult decision, ask yourself: “Which of our values guides us in this decision?” If you don’t have an answer, if you cannot connect the decision to your values, then your values are just decoration, and you will get the label “fake.” Decoration (form) saves nothing in a crisis.
There are also brands that openly communicate challenges, that are there for consumers and the community even when it is not easy. Consumers have remembered them too. In a different way.
5. Long-term perspective as a counterbalance to short-term panic
Crisis triggers panic. Panic leads to short-term decisions. Short-term decisions often destroy trust.
What we know from psychology: if we are not emotionally regulated, our thinking and decision-making are impaired. You know the sayings “Morning is wiser than evening” or “The wiser one yields.” These proverbs are based on emotional regulation and cognitive distance (“pause and reflect”).
In a state of threat, the brain activates the amygdala and cortisol “shuts down” the prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for long-term planning. We literally lose the ability to think long-term under stress. This applies to both leaders and consumers, because on both sides there are people with the same biological foundation.
A brand that does not panic in a crisis, does not change strategy every week, does not lay off key people, does not cancel long-term projects, becomes a safe harbor.
Consumers in crisis are more cautious, but not absolutely disloyal. They still want relationships with brands and are still willing to pay more for value. But that relationship must be earned, not assumed. Communicate a long-term perspective. “We are here in five, ten, twenty years. This crisis is temporary, our commitment is not.” And act accordingly. Because long-term thinking, in crisis, is the most valuable currency. And the trust you continuously build with consumers is your capital for crisis times.
6. Trust is primarily about experience, not communication
We cannot have only a communication strategy for building trust. Trust is about experience.
You can have the best campaign in the world. The most emotional videos and the most convincing messages. All the awards at festivals. But if the product is late, if the price is unrealistic, if customer service does not respond or it feels like only bots give generic answers, there will be no trust.
The brain remembers experience, not messages. Research on selective trust shows that under cognitive load, people rely on mental shortcuts (heuristics). And the strongest heuristic is: “Have they deceived me before?” “Are they insulting my intelligence?”
The reference point in crisis changes. Consumers today have a different sense of what is “fair,” what is “normal,” what is “acceptable.” Prices, for example, are no longer compared to those from a year ago, but to the peak of the crisis. Consumers remember who raised prices without reason and who remained fair.
Before launching a new campaign, check operations. Is the product in stock? Does customer service respond? Is the price clear? Is delivery reliable? Because the campaign will attract people, but operations will determine whether they stay.
7. Trust towards your own people
A brand cannot build trust externally if it does not have it internally. Do not forget internal communication and employer branding. Give it equal attention (and budgets), even in times of crisis. It is often the first on the list for “optimization and cuts” and “waiting for better times.”
Zak’s research shows dramatic differences between companies with high and low trust: 106% more energy among employees, 76% higher engagement, 50% higher productivity, 50% lower turnover and 88% more recommendations to friends and family.
Employees who do not trust their own brand (who are cynical, demotivated, distrustful) will inevitably transfer that attitude to consumers. Maybe not consciously, maybe not verbally. But through tone, enthusiasm, care, willingness to help. Before you seek consumer trust, check the level of trust within your own house. Trust is contagious, in both directions.
Trust as invisible infrastructure
Trust is not a given. It is the invisible infrastructure of every relationship, with others, with brands, with ourselves. When it exists, we do not notice it. We must stop taking it for granted. We must understand it, define it, nurture it.
Because in an anxious world, a polarized world, unpredictable and exhausting; in a world of AI, fake news, parasocial relationships and alienation, trust is not just a competitive advantage. It is a condition for survival, especially in crisis.
