Digital Trust is a concept that enables users to carry out business transactions in a safe, secure, ethical and reliable manner. In a digital world, everything is ultra-fast and instantaneous. Agility, and speed are perhaps the two key benefits of living in an all-digital world and are probably the most desirable qualities of a digital interaction. However, the digital nature of today’s businesses has brought about significant changes in business models, technology enablers and customer expectations. Amidst all these rapid changes, if there is one thing that has remained constant, it is the need for trust. [1]

Figure 1. Best practices to leverage digital trust

Figure 1 shows as the digital business ecosystem continues to grow, an organisation’s ability to cultivate digital trust will become increasingly vital to its success. This is why, according to predictions made by IDC Research, more than a third of organisations will have replaced Net Promoter Scores and similar metrics with digital trust indices by 2025. Over the next few years, customers and markets will demand a unified approach to measuring trust and will begin to employ quantitative metrics to assess things like security, privacy, compliance and customer experience. [2]

Best practices to leverage digital trust

1. Embrace innovation and security

Digital transformation is taking over the business landscape, now more than ever before. Cybersecurity is no longer a preserve of the big companies. Cybercrimes have morphed to include email phishing startup employees and tricking oblivious mobile money customers to send life savings to fraudster’s accounts.

1. Enforce a security policy among employees. Each of them should use strong passwords and access them through password vaults such as 1Password. This puts an end to uncontrolled sharing via unencrypted tools.
2. Invest in firewalls and antivirus software to protect computers used by staff from intruders.

2. Uphold transparency

The internet and social media have given customers loads of information at their fingertips. They wield this information even before interacting with your business. They expect that businesses will be upfront about what they do with their data and be honest about all their dealings.

1. Get straight to the point when sharing information online and offline too. Beating around the bush will make you lose business. In this digital world, our attention spans are very short.
2. Give visitors and customers all the information they need to make purchase decisions. It’s best when it comes from customers who have used your products or services. Voluntary reviews give potential customers the confidence that real people like them used your product and so it can work for them too.

3. Improve user experience

As mentioned in the previous point, data is necessary to customize digital experiences. Without trust, customers will not share the data required to drive a personalized experience. If they trust your company, many people will not mind sharing their data. In addition, give them control over how much data they provide and more importantly, add value to their experience. [3]

References:

1. https://www.subex.com/blog/what-is-digital-trust/
2. https://www.okta.com/uk/blog/2022/02/what-is-digital-trust-and-how-does-it-enable-modern-digital-business/
3. https://utu.io/blog/why-digital-trust-is-essential-to-scale-your-business-today/

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Best practices to leverage digital trust, Anatechmaz, pp. 83