Back

B2B brand transparency: what it is and why it matters

Brand transparency is about keeping your customers and employees informed, and being openly accountable to your purpose and promises. Rationale Senior Content Strategist, Siân Ross explains.
The right information for the right reasons

Audiences have never been more discerning in their decisions around who to work with. No longer is what you do their only consideration, they want to know why and how. What are your guiding principles? How do you treat your team? What is your impact on the planet? Brand transparency is about making this information available to audiences so they can easily determine whether your principles align with theirs.

What to share with clients and customers

Transparency requires you to communicate an established purpose, personality and positive culture. Don’t have these? A brand identity discovery process is where you should begin your journey.

Diagram describing communication and brand identity

Before you can incorporate transparency into your communications strategy, you should have a clear sense of your company’s purpose, personality and culture.

Transparency builds trust

Got your brand identity in place? Giving your customers access to the information they want or need has the power to turn a solid relationship into an unshakeable one. Staying in regular contact with your customers about your products, processes, and people keeps them engaged and informed. A podcast, customer newsletter and active social media channels are all great ways to welcome customers into your world.

Honest relationships are stronger relationships

When customer service goes wrong – whether it’s a short delay or a full on disaster – keeping those affected in the loop is the most powerful tool in keeping them on side. In fact, fixing mistakes in a positive and customer-centred way is shown to build a stronger relationship than if you never made the mistake to begin with.

What to share with employees

Keeping your employees updated improves morale and motivation by making everyone feel part of a bigger picture. It also alleviates employee stress by addressing questions like ‘is my work making an impact?’ and ‘is my job secure?’. This frees up mental load that can be redirected into creativity and innovation.

Don’t forget potential employees

Openly sharing how you work and what your internal culture is like attracts applicants who are a good fit for your business. This alignment between company and employee creates more productive professional relationships that last longer and make all parties happier.

The business benefits of transparency

A more transparent business landscape is good for everyone, including businesses – because being held accountable for our intentions and ambitions makes us more likely to achieve our hardest-to-reach goals.

Need some support communicating the right things to the right people in the right ways? Get in touch at hello@wearerationale.com