Anol Bhattacharya of SoulSoup is thinking about Brand, but I found his title intriguing, Brand Gap : Trust = Reliability + Delight
In two ways I found this presentation very interesting (apart from being a great example of ‘how to use PowerPoint as a visual presentation tool). First the explanation of Brand based on trust which comes from Reliability and Delight (T= R+D). To me, trust is also an immediate effect of openness. After millions of advertisements and marketing hoopla-hoops, which is a necessity for the enterprises of tomorrow to build a trusted brand ([Cluetrain] reloaded).
Trust comes up in just about every discussion in my knowledge management class. It's a key component of any attempt to ask people to talk to one another ("sharing knowledge") or get things done together.
This particular equation comes out of discussions of Brand and why people trust one brand over another. But can't it also apply to relationships between people or the relationship of a person to a larger group? If you reliably provide helpful knowledge for me, I am much more likely to come back to you and trust what you provide the next time. And in the reverse, if you are cantankerous or if the information provided is simply wrong, that trust decreases. I suspect the Delight component is much more important than the Reliability component, at least over time.