Trusted Company of the Month

EBay is one of the purest icons of trust. The legendary website for home-based buyers and sellers was founded on the very simple idea: people who want to auction their goods could list and sell them to other individuals who want to buy. A trip to any flea market would show that this concept is not revolutionary. But the thing that makes eBay unique and relevant to our discussion is its foundation of trust, even online.

Their business would fall apart without cooperation between buyers and sellers. While a system is in place to deal with cases of fraud, the community is largely self-governing. When bidders win, they send their money and expect sellers to ship their items promptly. And with over 212 million registered users and more than 1.5 billion items sold each year, it seems to be working out well! If the public had not trusted eBay, if fraud were prevalent enough or disagree­ments frequent enough, buyers would have chosen to look elsewhere for their electronics and household goods. But because of their confi­dence in each other, as well as eBay’s fraud-recovery procedures, the total worth of goods sold on eBay in 2010 was $62 billion — more than $2,000 every second.

Dave, David, Ebay, Horsager, Trust in Business, Trust in Leadership, Trusted Company of the Month

IKEA is one of the world’s most popular and trusted brands. The Swedish company’s success comes from their unique brand of trust. Younger couples, namely, trust the company to deliver high quality, fashionable pieces at affordable prices. As part of their commitment to that demographic, the stores have made it easier for young families to shop. High chairs, strollers, and even supervised playrooms for the kids are all part of the IKEA experience.

Another way that IKEA has secured trust across borders is by keeping control of their consistency. Every product that they sell comes from one of the company stores or through their catalogs. By electing not to use third-party retailers or distributors, IKEA gave up a quick profit in order to keep better tabs on their quality.

The lesson to take from IKEA’s success is simple: Being consistent is always in style. And showing your customer you care about their shopping experience will build trust in any language.

David Horsager, IKEA, Trusted Company of the Month, Trust in Business, Trust in Leadership, Swedish Company, Trusted Brands

It can be safely assumed that loaning money to complete strangers involves a significant risk. After all, how do you know if they would pay it back? So lending money in the developing world, across language and cultural barriers, to the working poor, would be much too risky, right? Wrong. This is the business model behind Opportunity International, one of the first nonprofit organizations to recognize the benefits of providing small business loans as capital to those working their way out of poverty. A resounding success, Opportunity is a shining example of what happens when trust is extended.

Opportunity International has empowered the poor in Third World nations to lift themselves out of poverty. By thoughtfully extending trust to groups of women entrepreneurs who are dedicated to the welfare of their families, Opportunity has positively impacted individuals, families, and communities across the globe.   

To learn more about Opportunity International, watch the video below or click on the logo to link to their website.

David Horsager, Trust, Trusted Company of the month, Business Abroad, Economic Development, International Business, Micro Finance, Opportunity International, Positive Impact, Trusted Company