[[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article","articleBody":"Authenticity and transparency in business seem to be the customer experience buzzwords of the moment. But what does transparency or authenticity look like in practice, not just theory?\u00a0\nMoreover, what\u2019s the strategy or even the psychology behind using these points of view as filters for your online conversations and brand building activities?\u00a0\nTechnology rules our lives. From social media to text messages, emails to just checking the weather, our smartphones, watches, and whatever other connected technology you have are never far from reach.\u00a0\nThat level of \u201calways-on\u201d mentality has spurred plenty of conversations around digital health and wellbeing, and it\u2019s given rise to new consumer behaviors, including researching brands prior to purchase. After all, not everything a brand says is accurate. And consumers have savvied up to figuring out which brand is keeping its promises, and which is saying it just for the revenue.\u00a0\nTransparency in business, then, becomes a tool that brands can employ to gain (or regain) consumer trust that they are true to their mission and building a real, unique, and dedicated community. And, research shows that people are willing to pay more for brands that act honestly and transparently.\u00a0\nLabel Insight, a firm that helps consumers understand what\u2019s in products, found that 39% of people surveyed said they would switch to a new brand if it were completely transparent, 56% would be loyal for life, and 76% would pay more for such brands.\nBranded transparency and authenticity broken down\nThere are a few industries in which transparency in business and customer experience matters more. For instance, younger consumers \u2013\u2013 think of those below 50 \u2013\u2013 are much more accustomed to transparency and honesty from brands.\u00a0\nSo, retailers, e-commerce, and those in the service industry in particular have already had to build this in to their strategies and communication styles. Industries that are often lagging in this trend that B2B and manufacturing, and sometimes the technology space.\u00a0\nThat said, when looking for examples of transparency, it\u2019s best to look at those industries which have been practicing this for a while. They have already gone through a lot of the necessary trial and error (though it will be different for every brand).\u00a0\nPatagonia: Patagonia prides itself on transparency throughout its supply chain, and reducing negative social and environmental impacts the company might have through the production of its items. This is a difficult stance to take, because many companies get caught off guard by the leaking of information about their environmentally-unfriendly manufacturing habits. Patagonia, instead, takes the responsibility on itself to make sure no harm is being caused in the making of its products. When a customer clicks on an item on the Patagonia website, that customer has access to a series of Footprint Chronicles videos directly related to that product. These videos show each step of the supply chain, including all textile mills and sewing factories used in creating the item.\u00a0\nSouthwest Airlines: Southwest Airlines prides itself on transparency, so much so that they billed their low fees and prices as \u201ctransfarency.\u201d This along with the campaign hashtag, #FeesDontFly, the airline uses the campaign to showcase its value proposition of no hidden fees or extra costs. The campaign garnered nearly five million likes on Facebook alone, set Southwest Airlines apart from the competition and earned the trust of customers.\nEverlane: Everlane is a DTC retail company that was built on the idea, as they dub it, of \u201cradical transparency.\u201d At their launch, the brand focused on sustainability, eventually leading to the launch of a denim collection in 2017. Everlane now has its ReNew initiative, with a goal of eliminating all virgin plastic from its supply chain (down to packaging) by 2021. It also recently launched the Tread sneaker line, which the company says is fully carbon neutral. It\u2019s successfully linked its brand with the notion of doing good by the planet.\nWhen transparency brings out the trolls\nOK, so \u2013 say your business has bought in to transparency, and is doing everything it can to level-up to its mission and serve its customers.\u00a0\nThat\u2019s fantastic! You\u2019re still going to have haters. That\u2019s just the way the internet works.\u00a0\nThe goal is to build a tribe around your set of values and missions, and live those out every day through the workplace, the way you treat your customers, the way you treat your partners, and even the way you treat \u2013 yes \u2013 your haters.\u00a0\nWorse, yet, is when your brand makes a transparency mistake \u2013 and now your haters are the folks who you used to consider pretty loyal customers. Yikes.\u00a0\nThis can happen \u2013 and it is also OK. Authenticity and transparency in business mean that you\u2019ve put in the time and effort to think through the details from beginning to end and really shore up your branded behavior and efforts in order to contribute to a tribe of beliefs.\u00a0\nIt does not mean that you won\u2019t make mistakes. After all, a brand is just a company, and a company is a group of people. And people? Well, they make mistakes. Now, you\u2019ll need to be transparent and authentic in how you address that mistake:\u00a0\nWhat we did wrong\nHow we could have done it better\nWhat we are doing now to make sure we do it better in the future\nAnswering those questions honestly and publicly are a very good first step to solving issues with folks \u2013\u2013 especially those who used to be loyal customers.\u00a0\nHow do your customers feel about your brand right now? Are you providing what they need? Learn how to monitor and adapt to their needs\u00a0HERE.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Tracey-Wallace-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Tracey Wallace","sameAs":"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TraceWall","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/"},"dateModified":"2020-11-06T22:10:47+00:00","datePublished":"2019-09-24T08:00:00+00:00","description":"Research shows that consumers will pay more to shop with brands that demonstrate transparency in business. Learn how trust sells in the experience economy.","headline":"How transparency in business drives five star customer experiences","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/thumbnail-ed6cd254a177f1873b5acd89e9d9a9b7-1200x630.jpeg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/","name":"How transparency in business drives five star customer experiences","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Organization","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","width":"500","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},{"@type":["Article"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article","@context":{"@vocab":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","kg":"http:\/\/g.co\/kg"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/","publisher":[{"@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"}],"author":[{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article_author_Person","sameAs":"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TraceWall","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article_author_Person_image_ImageObject","url":"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 1 1'%3E%3C\/svg%3E"}],"name":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/"}],"subjectOf":[{"@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article_subjectOf_FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#subjectOf_FAQPage_mainEntity0","name":"Branded transparency and authenticity broken down","acceptedAnswer":[{"@type":"Answer","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#subjectOf_FAQPage_mainEntity0_acceptedAnswer_Answer","text":"There are a few industries in which transparency in business and customer experience matters more<\/a>. For instance, younger consumers \u2013\u2013 think of those below 50 \u2013\u2013 are much more accustomed to transparency and honesty from brands. <\/span>So, retailers, e-commerce, and those in the service industry in particular have already had to build this in to their strategies and communication styles. Industries that are often lagging in this trend that B2B and manufacturing, and sometimes the technology space. <\/span>That said, when looking for examples of transparency, it\u2019s best to look at those industries which have been practicing this for a while. They have already gone through a lot of the necessary trial and error (though it will be different for every brand). <\/span>\n
  • Patagonia: <\/b>Patagonia prides itself on transparency throughout its supply chain, and reducing negative social and environmental impacts the company might have through the production of its items. This is a difficult stance to take, because many companies get caught off guard by the leaking of information about their environmentally-unfriendly manufacturing habits. Patagonia, instead, takes the responsibility on itself to make sure no harm is being caused in the making of its products. When a customer clicks on an item on the Patagonia website, that customer has access to a series of Footprint Chronicles<\/a> videos directly related to that product. These videos show each step of the supply chain, including all textile mills and sewing factories used in creating the item. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Southwest Airlines: <\/b>Southwest Airlines prides itself on transparency, so much so that they billed their low fees and prices as \u201c<\/span>transfarency<\/span><\/a>.\u201d This along with the campaign hashtag, #FeesDontFly, the airline uses the campaign to showcase its value proposition of no hidden fees or extra costs. The <\/span>campaign garnered nearly five million likes on Facebook<\/span><\/a> alone, set Southwest Airlines apart from the competition and earned the trust of customers.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Everlane:<\/b> Everlane is a DTC retail company that was built on the idea, as they dub it, of \u201cradical transparency.\u201d At their launch, the brand focused on sustainability, eventually leading to the launch of a denim collection in 2017. Everlane now has its <\/span>ReNew<\/span><\/a> initiative, with a goal of eliminating all virgin plastic from its supply chain (down to packaging) by 2021. It also recently launched the <\/span>Tread<\/span> sneaker line, which the company says is fully carbon neutral. It\u2019s successfully linked its brand with the notion of doing good by the planet.<\/span><\/li>\n"}]},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#subjectOf_FAQPage_mainEntity1","name":"When transparency brings out the trolls","acceptedAnswer":[{"@type":"Answer","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#subjectOf_FAQPage_mainEntity1_acceptedAnswer_Answer","text":"OK, so \u2013 say your business has bought in to transparency, and is doing everything it can to level-up to its mission and serve its customers. <\/span>That\u2019s fantastic! You\u2019re still going to have haters. That\u2019s just the way the internet works. <\/span>The goal is to build a tribe around your set of values and missions, and live those out every day through the workplace, the way you treat your customers, the way you treat your partners, and even the way you treat \u2013 yes \u2013 your haters. <\/span>Worse, yet, is when your brand makes a transparency mistake \u2013 and now your haters are the folks who you used to consider pretty loyal customers. Yikes. <\/span>This can happen \u2013 and it is also OK. Authenticity and transparency in business mean that you\u2019ve put in the time and effort to think through the details from beginning to end and really shore up your branded behavior and efforts in order to contribute to a tribe of beliefs. <\/span>It does not mean that you won\u2019t make mistakes. After all, a brand is just a company, and a company is a group of people. And people? Well, they make mistakes. Now, you\u2019ll need to be transparent and authentic in how you address that mistake: <\/span>\n
  • What we did wrong<\/span><\/li>\n
  • How we could have done it better<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What we are doing now to make sure we do it better in the future<\/span><\/li>\nAnswering those questions honestly and publicly are a very good first step to solving issues with folks \u2013\u2013 especially those who used to be loyal customers. <\/span>"}]}]}],"image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#Article_image_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/thumbnail-ed6cd254a177f1873b5acd89e9d9a9b7-1200x630.jpeg","width":"1200","height":"630"}],"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/","articleBody":"\n Authenticity and transparency in business seem to be the customer experience buzzwords of the moment. But what does transparency or authenticity look like in practice, not just theory?\u00a0\nMoreover, what\u2019s the strategy or even the psychology behind using these points of view as filters for your online conversations and brand building activities?\u00a0\nTechnology rules our lives. From social media to text messages, emails to just checking the weather, our smartphones, watches, and whatever other connected technology you have are never far from reach.\u00a0\nThat level of \u201calways-on\u201d mentality has spurred plenty of conversations around digital health and wellbeing, and it\u2019s given rise to new consumer behaviors, including researching brands prior to purchase. After all, not everything a brand says is accurate. And consumers have savvied up to figuring out which brand is keeping its promises, and which is saying it just for the revenue.\u00a0\nTransparency in business, then, becomes a tool that brands can employ to gain (or regain) consumer trust that they are true to their mission and building a real, unique, and dedicated community. And, research shows that people are willing to pay more for brands that act honestly and transparently.\u00a0\nLabel Insight, a firm that helps consumers understand what\u2019s in products, found that 39% of people surveyed said they would switch to a new brand if it were completely transparent, 56% would be loyal for life, and 76% would pay more for such brands.\nBranded transparency and authenticity broken down\nThere are a few industries in which transparency in business and customer experience matters more. For instance, younger consumers \u2013\u2013 think of those below 50 \u2013\u2013 are much more accustomed to transparency and honesty from brands.\u00a0\nSo, retailers, e-commerce, and those in the service industry in particular have already had to build this in to their strategies and communication styles. Industries that are often lagging in this trend that B2B and manufacturing, and sometimes the technology space.\u00a0\nThat said, when looking for examples of transparency, it\u2019s best to look at those industries which have been practicing this for a while. They have already gone through a lot of the necessary trial and error (though it will be different for every brand).\u00a0\n\nPatagonia: Patagonia prides itself on transparency throughout its supply chain, and reducing negative social and environmental impacts the company might have through the production of its items. This is a difficult stance to take, because many companies get caught off guard by the leaking of information about their environmentally-unfriendly manufacturing habits. Patagonia, instead, takes the responsibility on itself to make sure no harm is being caused in the making of its products. When a customer clicks on an item on the Patagonia website, that customer has access to a series of Footprint Chronicles videos directly related to that product. These videos show each step of the supply chain, including all textile mills and sewing factories used in creating the item.\u00a0\nSouthwest Airlines: Southwest Airlines prides itself on transparency, so much so that they billed their low fees and prices as \u201ctransfarency.\u201d This along with the campaign hashtag, #FeesDontFly, the airline uses the campaign to showcase its value proposition of no hidden fees or extra costs. The campaign garnered nearly five million likes on Facebook alone, set Southwest Airlines apart from the competition and earned the trust of customers.\nEverlane: Everlane is a DTC retail company that was built on the idea, as they dub it, of \u201cradical transparency.\u201d At their launch, the brand focused on sustainability, eventually leading to the launch of a denim collection in 2017. Everlane now has its ReNew initiative, with a goal of eliminating all virgin plastic from its supply chain (down to packaging) by 2021. It also recently launched the Tread sneaker line, which the company says is fully carbon neutral. It\u2019s successfully linked its brand with the notion of doing good by the planet.\n\nWhen transparency brings out the trolls\nOK, so \u2013 say your business has bought in to transparency, and is doing everything it can to level-up to its mission and serve its customers.\u00a0\nThat\u2019s fantastic! You\u2019re still going to have haters. That\u2019s just the way the internet works.\u00a0\nThe goal is to build a tribe around your set of values and missions, and live those out every day through the workplace, the way you treat your customers, the way you treat your partners, and even the way you treat \u2013 yes \u2013 your haters.\u00a0\nWorse, yet, is when your brand makes a transparency mistake \u2013 and now your haters are the folks who you used to consider pretty loyal customers. Yikes.\u00a0\nThis can happen \u2013 and it is also OK. Authenticity and transparency in business mean that you\u2019ve put in the time and effort to think through the details from beginning to end and really shore up your branded behavior and efforts in order to contribute to a tribe of beliefs.\u00a0\nIt does not mean that you won\u2019t make mistakes. After all, a brand is just a company, and a company is a group of people. And people? Well, they make mistakes. Now, you\u2019ll need to be transparent and authentic in how you address that mistake:\u00a0\n\nWhat we did wrong\nHow we could have done it better\nWhat we are doing now to make sure we do it better in the future\n\nAnswering those questions honestly and publicly are a very good first step to solving issues with folks \u2013\u2013 especially those who used to be loyal customers.\u00a0\nHow do your customers feel about your brand right now?\nAre you providing what they need?\nLearn how to monitor and adapt to their needs\u00a0HERE.\n\n\n\t\n ","dateModified":"2020-11-06T22:10:47+00:00","name":"How transparency in business drives five star customer experiences","datePublished":"2019-09-24T08:00:00+00:00","headline":"How transparency in business drives five star customer experiences","description":"Research shows that consumers will pay more to shop with brands that demonstrate transparency in business. Learn how trust sells in the experience economy."}],{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2019","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"24","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/09\/\/24\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"How transparency in business drives five star customer experiences","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-business-examples\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]