In a business class I attended, the Instructor shared a statement that was very true, and even though I realized I to do this, had never thought of it in it's simplicity; "you are competing with not only your competitors but the customer's previous experiences". Having transparency and strong values, helps to jump both of the hurtles in that statement. We tend to build a wall of protection from past negative experiences; companies, schools, teachers (even from their experience in public schools), etc. that had been deceiving or misleading. Having true transparency helps to lower that wall and build trust since there are simple facts to back up what is being discussed, verses the old "trust me" statement.