Dettol is Australia’s most trusted brand, according to a survey conducted by Reader’s Digest.
Long-established companies such as Colgate, Dyson and Panadol also topped this year’s list of brands Australians associate with premium quality and affordability.
Aussie consumers also place a lot of trust in their tea, with both Twinings and Lipton coming in as the ninth and tenth most trusted brands.
READ MORE: How to earn and build trust in your business
Independent brand analyst Michel Hogan told SmartCompany all the companies on this year’s list make products and are not services based.
“We really trust stuff we can hold in our hands, but we don’t trust people or the people that sell them,” Hogan says.
“That’s the really interesting thing for me. What’s going on in Australia with our relationship with companies that provide services that we don’t put them on our trust radar? We trust the colour on our walls and the suction that picks up our dust. We trust the tea that we drink and the electronics that entertain us – but there isn’t a service in there and that’s a really interesting thing.”
“That either says something about the methodology in the survey… or it’s saying something much deeper about how we think about trust,” Hogan adds.
Hogan says apart from the fact that the businesses that have made the list have been around for a long time, the takeaway lesson for small businesses is following through on promises.
“Dettol says it’s going to kill bacteria and people think it does, so therefore it gives them confidence and they trust it,” she says.
“Dulux sells paint that sticks on walls, and therefore it keeps its promise. Whether you’re a heritage product that’s been around forever, a big-name company that has big resources behind it or whether you’re an SME toiling out there in the trenches – the principles for building a brand that people can have a sense of confidence in comes down to the same stuff.”
“You’ve got to be deliberate and conscious about what promises you make, base them on what you can actually do and then keep those promises. Over time, that is the best recipe for building a brand that people trust.”
Australia’s most trusted brands according to Reader’s Digest are:
1. Dettol
2. Dulux
3. Colgate
4. Band-Aid
5. Dyson
6. Parker
7. Panadol
8. Sony
9. Twinings
10. Lipton
Broede Carmody is a former senior SmartCompany reporter. Before this, he was a co-editor of RMIT University’s student magazine Catalyst.
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