Trust is a BIG deal! Always has been and always will be. Especially these days, trust often is under the microscope. Trust is earned by actions, dependability, values, consistency, service, and meeting promises. That goes for careers, companies, and brands.
You will not be surprised to learn nurses, veterinarians, and engineers are the most trusted professions as rated in a recent Gallop survey (78%, 65%, and 60%, respectively, rated as very high or high). The lowest? Again, no surprises. The bottom four include members of Congress (6%), Senators, car salespeople and advertising practitioners (all at 8%). Business executives came in only slightly better at 12%.
Consumer goods companies, particularly those that are large and well established, tend to fare well. According to Statista data, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, and Hallmark are the top three most trusted companies. A separate 2024 study by BrandSpark rated brands by category. Examples of top brands include Kraft, Heinz, Folgers, Dawn, Gillette—basically all the most recognized brands.
Brand trust comes down to consumers’ confidence that you will consistently deliver against your promises. Factors that influence brand trust include product quality, value vs. cost, customer service, the customer experience, third party reviews, how the company treats their employees, company values (philanthropic or political), and how secure is their customer data (a more recent issue, given all the breaches).
All this matters since most consumers will leave your brand if they feel like you do not live up to your promises. This is particularly true for younger consumers, 70% of whom switch brands when disappointed. They also place higher importance on social issues. Some data suggests as many as 50% of seniors will leave if their experience does not meet expectations.
Implications
There are steps to take to build and keep brand trust. Here are some of our thoughts.
Understand your consumers and their needs. What are the most important purchase decision criteria? What problem do you solve for them? What makes your brand different and better than competitors?
Then set expectations for the value and benefits that your brand can consistently deliver against. Provide facts or proof points that support your claims, strengthen your positioning in a big way. Be informative and helpful in all aspects of your marketing to distinguish your brand. And then do what you say that you will do for your consumer. If you offer a bundle of benefits (like efficacy and less product required to do the job), it is even better.
In many product categories, environmental and sustainability claims are increasingly differentiators. Just be sure that your claims are well supported and documented. And then keep raising the bar each year to cement that value-add.
After that, how you deliver against your promises makes a difference: consistency, transparency, unwavering focus on quality and service, and quickly and accurately fixing issues when they arise. Make it easy to do business with you. And make sure customers come first. All day, every day.
At Damen Jackson, we are big believers in creating and maintaining brand trust. We have the benefit of 25 years of working with almost 800 clients to help your brand thrive by making the most of your sources of competitive advantage. We like nothing better than to be your partner who works through telling your story in ways that are credible, convincing, and compelling.
Our fresh eyes are there to augment the experience of your leadership team, while multiplying the odds of improving profitable revenue growth.
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