It used to be an old adage in the marketing and advertising circles to say that “know”, “like”, and “trust” are important in the buying process and are the main criteria for why potential customers will choose to do business with us.

In other words if there’s no knowledge of us out there in the market, then few are likely to do business with us.

This should be fairly obvious because without market awareness, folks won’t even know to look for us in the first place.

This criteria has carried over well into the digital era and so the focus of a lot of content and advertising and promotions is exactly that... to get people to know who we are and expose people to our brand, products and services, and the values we hold dear as a business.

The second factor “likability” is also important and still relevant in the digital age because no one sets out to do business with an entity that is inherently repulsive.

That’s why all our marketing and sales copy, advertising collateral, and content marketing efforts always puts our best foot forward.

What about trust? Is it still a necessary part of the mix in today’s business climes?

Sure! Because being trustworthy essentially boils down to whether customers think we are credible and competent at our craft.

They have to think we’re good at the job, and that we’re capable professionals.

If they don’t, why would they call us?

Who likes handing over their garments to an incompetent tailor?

Who hires a wedding photographer that is still “learning work” and who goes to a doctor that graduated from “Toronto” University?

There will be a lot of talk over the airwaves to say that we are now in the age of “so and so” and because of that, sales, marketing and advertising will need to change it’s ways.

So long as humans remain fundamentally the same, the principles we use in the art of persuasion and business will always be relevant and applicable.

The only things that will change is the physical contexts in which we apply them.

So even when the meta verse comes along and we’re all living through avatars (or whatever form that might come our way), these ideals will still hold true.

How will “know”, “like”, and “trust” be applied in the meta verse and for all ages to come?

We’ll see! But don’t expect these three musketeers to go away anytime soon!