10 statistics that drive home why business needs to refocus on trust

When experience matches expectations, we build trust; all the other benefits of marketing are contingent on that trust

Trust from customers has never been a given in business. It’s always been necessary to work on building trust. But that need has increased, as distrust has grown.

It used to be marketing and communications from business started with a blank slate. Customers and prospects neither trusted you nor distrusted you – but they’d give you a chance to earn it.

Today, I don’t think that’s true anymore. We live in a “post trust era.” The default position is distrust. In other words, if trust is a form of currency, the bank accounts of trust held by business communications starts with a negative ledger.

Marketers and communicators tend to focus more on reach, which is important, however we often do so at the expense of being believed. More than just being seen, brands have to focus on being believed.

Below are 10 statistics stemming from studies I’ve reviewed and written about here – or have covered in my monthly newsletter.

1. Trust is the antidote to zero-click search

Zero click searches are one of the most vexing problems in marketing today. One way to overcome that is to build a brand people trust.

A survey of 1,000 Americans revealed that 59% “click results from brands they know, while less than one-third choose the top-ranked result.”

Showing up to marketing with a budget strictly for performance when no one knows or trusts your business is getting more expensive. However, investing in brand marketing will bring the cost of performance marketing down. Brand plus demand beats brand versus demand.

2. Trust is essential for enduring marketing success

Marketing often needs some quick wins. That helps to build credibility inside the business. But don’t get absorbed by it.

A poll of 3,484 business executives around the world concluded that 60% of CMOs and marketing VPs “identified trust-building strategies as essential for long-term success.”

Privately held companies have an advantage here because they aren’t subject to the whims of quarterly earnings of impatient on Wall Street.

Other studies have shown marketing teams that outperform their peers devote 40% or more of their marketing budget to long-term goals.

3. Thought leadership builds trust and pricing power

Some 73% of decision-makers said thought leadership was more trustworthy than other marketing materials. They see this style of content as a better “basis for assessing its capabilities and competencies.”

But there’s more to be gained through trust than just net-new – there’s margin too: 60% of decision-makers “say that good thought leadership makes them willing to pay a premium to work with that organization.”

Those professionals focused on customer marketing may find this to be true in cross-selling and upselling as well.

4. A brands social media activity can build trust

A survey fielded to 2,000 adults in the US and UK revealed that 78% “agree that a brand’s social media presence has a larger impact this year than last on whether or not they trust that brand. That figure rises to 88% for Gen Zers, a notable finding given that trust in brands is growing in importance more for younger than older consumers.”

Other studies have shown that, contrary to conventional wisdom, most people follow brands on social media to stay informed. Yet the most memorable brands on social media do one simple thing: they respond to engagement.

5. Thought leadership done poorly erodes trust

A survey of “150 senior executives based in the US and UK” found that 71% of B2B marketing prospects are disappointed in the content they’ve traded their contact information to obtain at least some of the time, which leads to trust issues.

Other studies show gated content has had a bit of a revival so don’t waste a chance to build trust with content that anyone else can get from ChatGPT.

6. Privacy, responsiveness and CX top factors for trust-building

“A 2023 study by PwC surveyed 2,508 U.S. consumers and asked survey participants to rate the importance of several factors when deciding how much to trust a company.” Here are the habits consumers say causes them to trust a business:

79% said the business protects customer data;
74% said the business quickly responds to and resolves customer concerns;
74% said the business delivers consistent and reliable customer experience;
72% said the business offers high-quality products and services;
72% said the business communicates clearly;
66% said the business offers affordable products and services;
50% said the business has strong financial performance; and
43% said the business has purpose and values that align with mine.

It’s worth pointing out for all the noise these days about purpose and value, those qualities are last on the list. A survey I conducted a few years back demonstrated that people will still buy from brands they completely disagree with politically, if quality, convenience, and price are suitable.

7. Trust in traditional media

Less than half (49%) of the 483 PR people I helped survey said their organization trusts the reporting of traditional media.

Further, one in five said their organization distrusts traditional media.

While PR people are not without fault, in this instance, those PR people are just the messengers. A big part of their job is facilitating communication between those organizations and the media. So, distrust in traditional media is yet another challenge for corporate communicators to navigate.

This is why, I contend, in fact, have proven, over and over, for PR, it’s because of the sorry state of media relations, and not in spite of it, that an owned media strategy has become essential.

8. Three things businesses can do to build trust

A survey of 20,000 people in 29 countries found the top three things businesses can do to build trust are:

Be reliable and keep your promises;
Be open and transparent about what you are doing; and
Behave responsibly.

Sometimes, marketing just tries too hard. Executing on the fundamentals produces better results.

9. B2B tech buyers distrust vendors

Most buyers of B2B technology don’t believe vendors are completely honest. That’s according to a survey of 625 U.S.-based B2B technology decision-makers.

Most (73%) said they believe “most vendors fall short” of the honesty mark.

More specifically, when the survey asked, “To what extent do you feel technology vendors are being honest with you?” here’s how the answers stacked up:

27% said most vendors are honest most of the time;
47% said most vendors strive to be honest but fall short;
17% said some vendors strive to be honest but fall short;
8% said vendors stretch the truth most of the time; and
1% said vendors don’t know what the truth is.

Prior experience shapes our expectations. This is why marketing starts with a “bank account of trust” with a negative balance. We’ve got to make deposits before we can make withdrawals.

10. Gaining trust benefits the bottom line – big time

A survey of 15,000 consumers across 15 markets, including the U.S. and U.K. found that when customers trust a business, they are more likely to take actions that benefit that business.

Those actions include the following: