Why Is Trust Important for Your Business?

Marketing Viewpoint by Ruth Winett

The leaking water heater example

Would you fly on a Boeing plane? Invest with a company that has inexperienced staff and no Internet presence? No one wants to do business with a company they do not trust. In a productive relationship, the customer trusts the vendor and the vendor trusts the customer.

Do Your Customers Trust Your Company?

Trust in your company means that customers or clients believe that your company is reliable; that it has the expertise and experience to be able to provide high quality products or services; and that you will act in the customers’ best interests. It also means that your marketing messages can be trusted. Establishing trust is critical as it will lead to more sales and increased customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Loyalty also means more return business and more referrals.

Do You Trust Your Customers?

In a healthy business relationship, vendors trust that their customers or clients:

Genuinely need the vendor’s product or services.
Will provide access to individuals, materials, and information necessary for the project to succeed.
Will learn how to use the vendors’ products or services appropriately.
Will treat the vendors’ employees with respect.
Will pay for the products or services they purchase.

Interestingly, Fidelity asks customers to sign an agreement that specifies what Fidelity expects from their customers.

CMB’s Six Trust Factors*

CMB surveyed 1,400 consumers of finance/investments, tech and telecom, and media and entertainment products and services and identified six factors that contribute to trust. CMB found that different trust factors were important to consumers of companies in different industries.

Dependability was the most important trust factor overall (39% of participants), and Relevance (2%) the least important factor. Traditional Investment Firms were considered the most trustworthy of the industries surveyed (an overall score of 60), and Social Media brands were the least trustworthy (score of 43). Here are the six trust factors:

"Dependability"--overall score of 39%. "Products and services… meet expectations" and are "dependable." Most important in Fin tech (36%) and Telecom (32%).
"Transparency"--overall score of 30%. "Provides …transparent information about products, services, and pricing/fees." Most important in News (39%).
"Integrity"—overall score of 17%. "Actions are consistent with its stated values." Most important in Traditional Card & Banking (33%).
"Customer-First"—overall score of 9%. "Goes above and beyond/feel like a valued customer." Most important in Ticketed Events (14%)
"Responsive"—overall score of 3%. "Quickly resolves customer issues." Most important in Ticketed Events (14%) and Telecom (14%).
"Relevance"—overall score 2%. "Values align with my values." Cares about "protecting the environment and sourcing ethically." Most important in Ticketed Events (10%)

Identify Trust Factors for Your Industry.

For a business relationship to flourish, vendors and customers need to trust each other. The factors that contribute most to creating trust differ by industry or type of customer or client. For homeowners the trust factor valued most in plumbers is probably Responsive. Will they come quickly when the water heater leaks? It is worthwhile to segment your customers or clients by demographics or business needs and then identify how to build trust within each segment. Marketing messages should address the factors deemed important by particular types of customers.

* https://www.quirks.com/articles/how-the-changing-landscape-of-brand-trust-impacts-your-business

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