Trust is fundamental to effective marketing. It underpins every purchase, investment, and recruitment decision made by every individual, in all walks of life. In B2B marketing trust is even more important than within the consumer world as each decision has a potentially greater impact.
Trust is deeply personal and often influenced by an individual’s underlying fears. To foster confidence businesses must consistently demonstrate reliability, produce positive outcomes and show commitment to supporting their clients and customers.
For B2B marketers it is advisable to share use cases, case studies and impact stories that clearly illustrate how your organization delivers value. Trust is central to all relationship-based marketing, where you might serve a client over a longer period, rather than provide a one-time solution.
While trust is built over time, it can be lost in a moment if care is not taken to maintain the integrity of the relationship due to inconsistent and negative experiences and in B2B this is where it hits the bottom line.
When trust is tested
Interestingly, it’s often the way an organization responds during challenging times that becomes crucial to maintaining long-term trust. The most recent example of this, at scale, was played out during the global pandemic when trust became the new currency.
Having worked in both client service and marketing has highlighted for me the importance of delivering on-brand promises in every client interaction. This ensures that the organization becomes a trusted partner within the relationship as a whole, not just with the individual buyer.
All employees can influence the experience your brand delivers and all should be advocates for your values meaning that what your business does and says it does are mirrored in the experience your clients and customers receive at any touchpoint.
This focus on trust is particularly vital in today’s environment, where widespread disruption and misinformation is driven by factors such as geopolitics, changing demographics, technological advancements, and sustainability concerns. Building trust in this transformative age requires prioritizing human experience and delivering a brand proposition that is consistently reflected in every aspect of service.
How do you build trust effectively?
Show-up how you want to be seen
If you are a technology company, don’t turn up with old tech. Deliver the experience you are selling within all client interactions.
Walk the talk at every level of your organisation
Ensure your brand is aligned with your culture and vice versa. Any time a client has with you on the phone to your call centre, returning goods in a store or when things go wrong, should reflect the brand promise you make within the market.
Use advocates to tell your story
Ensuring others speak for the success you have enabled for them brings more credibility to any claims you might make. Standing on the shoulders of the giants around you will give you greater authenticity.
Humanity wins every time
People buy from people. Research might be self-navigated through technology, AI-generated or from aggregated recommendations but when someone starts the buying process, make sure it feels human building trust when it matters.
In the future, skills such as empathy, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence will play an increasingly important role in organisations. This human advantage will help you shape the future of your organisation and deliver trusted relationships that impact the bottom line.
Authored by Kate Mackie, Partner Brand, Marketing & Communications at EY
This publication contains information in summary form and is therefore intended for general guidance only. It is not intended to be a substitute for detailed research or the exercise of professional judgment. Member firms of the global EY organization cannot accept responsibility for loss to any person relying on this article.
