Customer trust is the most valuable asset a company can have. It has a clear financial impact; it is fluid, dynamic and always contextual.

Trust is an integral part of our lives - just think about the people we trust on a regular basis. For me it ranges from trusting my colleagues to deliver a great experience for our clients, trusting suppliers to deliver the goods I need on time and in good condition, my doctor looking after my health, etc., the list goes on. At a time when we are sifting through misinformation, ‘mis-speaking’ and fake news on a daily basis and navigating polarised opinions on pretty much everything that touches our lives, now more than ever we need brands, businesses, and employers we can trust - organisations that are transparent, empathetic, easy to deal with and actually do what they promise.

What is trust anyway?

Trust is the basis on which we build relationships; it is what makes us human. In a business context, our customers trust our companies and brands to deliver what we say we are going to do – our promise. For some of us in business, trust may seem rather abstract, yet we know it has measurable implications. For example, we all spend more time and money with the brands we love, we recommend them to others, we may pay more for their excellent service and trusted companies can recover speedily from incidents.

According to Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss in the May-June 2020 edition of the Harvard Business Review, trust is the result of a combination of the three qualities in this trust triangle: authenticity, logic and empathy. When trust is lost it is because there is a breakdown in one of the three areas.

The onus is on business

The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer shows business as the most trusted institution for the 3rd year running. ‘My employer’ remains the most trusted, with consumers and employees pressuring businesses to stand up for them. 5x more engagement from business is expected on the big issues such as climate change and economic inequality.

Overall, the results show a call for business to collaborate with Government to get the best results for everyone, to restore economic optimism through investment in fair compensation, training and local communities and be the advocate for truth as a source of reliable information whilst holding false information sources to account.

Reinforcing this last point about reliable information, PwC’s recent Global Investor Survey found that 87% of investors suspect that corporate ESG disclosures contain some greenwashing. Climate reporting has been designed to enable sustainable outcomes, but it can only achieve that if the reporting is trusted. We can all expect more attention and scrutiny as more regulators call for the disclosure of climate risks, the financial implications and how our companies are going to manage them.

Understanding how our customers trust us

Working with Futurecurve clients around reinforcing trust with their customers, the Trust Equation by Charles H Green is always worth exploring:

The equation shows that trust is diminished if a person or a company is seen to act in their own self-interest. The more we experience this self-orientation the less we trust them.

To give you a starter, our research highlights the following factors that frequently help build customer trust:

In our experience, these are also the things that customers value most.

When building your value proposition, trust and value go hand-in-hand and why we at Futurecurve research these factors together. Understanding the rational, emotional and socio-political factors of value is vital and this always includes what builds trust.

We all need to manage trust proactively; it can’t be left to chance. Taking a strategic view of your value proposition can enable you to build trust equity. If you would like to know more, check out our white paper Harnessing your customer truth.

Building trust cannot be a game of chance