Spring 2013 Trustees Meeting: Building Trust in a Digital Age

Peter Drucker once noted that brands have value because they communicate “information about a product or a service that the customer does not and cannot have—and does not need if he can trust the brand.”

Today’s world of 24/7 digital and social media challenges traditional sources of brand strength; companies can no longer assume that there is information that the customer does not—and cannot—have. Consumers and other stakeholders now have access to information about companies that can erode or enhance trust, depending on how companies respond. Moreover, companies have little control over conversations about them in social media, and are often unable to even respond to what is being said. Beyond merely reacting to perceived breaches, companies must understand:

• How do companies earn trust—and recover it when lost?
• Who are people’s trusted advisors and how are such judgments formed?
• How do people judge whether the actions of firms are exploitative or not?
• What is the role of social networks (online and off) in the creation and dissemination of credible information?
• How can companies earn the right to use personal information to serve customers better?

Please join us to learn some of the latest thinking about these critical issues from leading academics and practitioners.

(Note: Open only to corporate and academic members of the MSI Board of Trustees)