We’ve talked about humility and accessibility and the barriers to entry within tech conversations. Transparency is a value that follows humility. It’s hard to build trust if consumers don’t feel like they can trust what they hear from tech companies and spokespeople.
Transparency in any form of media is a balance. The consumer wants information, a reader wants clear language and the company wants to be able to sell their product. They also want to be leading the discovery in their field. They need to be constantly delivering. But life is messy and there are inevitable problems and issues that keep disrupting companies. They don’t want to look bad and the classic mistake is pretending that everything is fine until they get found out. This brings us full circle back to humility and stories like The Dropout and WeCrashed.
Humility brings with it accessibility, and accessibility gives way to transparency. If tech companies cannot communicate their significant failures they shouldn’t expect people to believe in their products. Communicate what is important and you build trust; transparency is critical. Humility shows character, and accessibility shows consumers that large companies want to build connections. These three communication skills are the basis for a relationship. Healthy, long lasting relationships are key to any successful business.