Every week, you can find thousands of boys and young men across the nation attending their local Boy Scout meeting, learning the values and skills every good American man should know. With former Boy Scouts everywhere in today’s business world, it’s no wonder that their twelve pillars of Scout Law (pictured above) are incorporated into the way they practice business.
Surveys show that over 70 percent of consumers in America and Europe distrust businesses as a whole. But for the brands that they do trust, consumer loyalty is fierce. I’ve personally found that one of the easiest ways to instill trust is to mirror the 12 values found in the Scout Law:
A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
Whether you incorporate these values into the way you personally conduct business or into the way your brand operates as a whole, I think you’ll find that consumers will be excited to work with you time and time again. So let’s get down to business and analyze the Scout’s Law.
Scout Law Business Leadership Lessons
Create a Trustworthy Profile
Did you know that consumers consider transparency more important that brand appeal?
A lack of transparency directly correlates to a distinct lack of trust and consumer enthusiasm. Whether it’s being forthright with your stakeholders or honest about the sourcing of materials, there are many areas in which businesses can be transparent.
An excellent example of this is The Honest Company, which is transparent about materials used in their products for babies.
Loyalty Works Both Ways
When you truly focus on building a great customer experience, you’ll find that brands have the responsibility to increase loyalty to their consumers.
In my own business experiences, the more I’ve loyally focused on fulfilling consumer needs and making them happy, no matter what, the better business becomes. If you take a look at the world’s top companies, like Amazon and Apple, I think you’ll find that they have a fierce loyalty to their consumers.
Forget Fluff and Get Helpful
When most brands think about content marketing, their focus is on SEO – and rightly so. However, keywords and content strategy will only get you so far. Your content has to offer value and insight to consumers or there is no point to reading it.
Without helpful content, you’ll establish a reputation as a fluff-maker that consumers will avoid like the plague. Instead, show that you’re willing to help even if there’s no direct benefit for you.
Friendly, Courteous, and Kind Brands are Likeable Brands
As a southerner, Southern hospitality is basically my middle name. It’s molded the way I’ve conducted business and established a trusted reputation.
No one wants to do business with “mean” folks.
Obey the Market Rules
The premise that the “customer is always right” isn’t necessarily true. However, you must always behave as though it is.
Remember, without their business, you wouldn’t have a paycheck. Businessmen and brands alike need to remember how to obey their customers and be subservient to market demands. Brands such as Whole Foods have even incorporated this into their Core Values and mission statement.
Spread the Cheer
Emotions drive the business world as much as anything else. Think about the major brands that you use on a daily basis, such as Google and Facebook, and you’ll find that they’re all generally “happy” brands.
Get Thrifty like Mackelmore
Becoming more efficient with your resources and time not only benefits your bottom line, but also makes the consumer happier when the savings are passed onto them.
Bravery Gets You Attention
SodaStream recently had their commercials banned across the UK.
Why?
Because supermarket retailers were afraid that people would no longer purchase sodas if they could make them at home. Despite the controversy, SodaStream is fighting back – and hard. This has only resulted in more coverage and higher sales.
Clean is Always Better Than Dirty
Just like you would never want to walk into a dirty store, people don’t like shopping on unorganized and messy websites. Keep your Web presence clean by focusing on simplicity and content organization.
Reverent Brands are Supported Brands
Reverent brands give back to their communities whenever possible. You are doing good and building consumer goodwill when you take advantage of opportunities to give back.
Twelve Pillars of Scout Law Photo via Shutterstock
