The quote came in the context: We’ve worked very hard to earn trust, you can’t ask for trust you just have to do it the hard way one step at a time. You make a promise and then fulfill the promise, you say we’ll deliver this to you you know tomorrow, and then you actually deliver it tomorrow. And if you do that over and over again then ultimately you can instill your company’s name with a reputation.
The quote was said during this interview: Jeff Bezos on Entrepreneurship and How Amazon Innovated.
In the age of ecommerce, this quote is a conventional wisdom. But whether it is an online or offline business, trust is earned step by step. You simply can not ask for blind trust from the customer. Businesses should do their best to prove to the customer that they are trustworthy.
Trust, is also what distinguish entrepreneurs from others. Entrepreneurs tend to take risks, put their trusts in others, in hope that the other party is trust worthy.
For example, an entrepreneur ordering some products from a Chinese factory, or hiring a marketing agency. In both cases, trust is needed, as the factory could not produce as specified, or the agency not market well.
You can’t ask for trust, you just have to do it the hard way one step at a time
-Jeff Bezos
This quote concerns mainly the masses. The general public will be hesitant to put their trust in your company, unless they feel they can do so.
In the case of Amazon, they earned the trust of their customers by delivering the packages ‘always’.
In the case of Domino’s pizza, the delivery within 30 minutes, or it’s free, got people to trust the fast delivery, till it became a reputation.
In the case of Apple computers, they always sold good products. This got them the reputation of high quality.
