In our day-to-day interactions, trust is a clear non-negotiable. Instinctively, we know that to be trusted and to trust is necessary for our world to work.
For brands, trust is critical to securing long-term adoption and recurring revenue, but it is difficult to identify and measure. Even though it may be challenging to identify when brand trust happens—we all acutely know when it’s not there.
In a recent Rebel study on trust, over half, 63% of respondents, said they had lost trust in a brand before. Once trust is lost, nearly 65% reported they stop purchasing. That’s no small number—one that should cause brands to sit up in their seats.
The crazy thing about today’s marketplace is that—customers don’t have to look far to find your competitor or an alternative solution. In fact, it’s delivered to them in their feeds. So that means the tolerance level of customers who encounter reasons to stop trusting may just be shorter than we think.
When asked what is the primary reason for distrusting a brand, 50% said a bad experience (poor customer service, poor experience overall), if we add poor product quality or glitchy technology, that number goes up to 74%.
Let’s put it another way—three out of four customers will stop buying your brand due to a bad experience.
What the actual…..?! Hold the phone.
With those odds, let’s chat for a minute about what we already know about trust and how it applies to brands.
Trust & Brands
01—The customer journey may matter more than you realize. Why? Because, in general, humans default to trust. We expect to trust the experiences we encounter. So, with that initial interaction, we’re likely starting off on the right foot. It’s all the things that come after that initial intro that signal to us whether or not the experience is trustworthy.
02—Recommendations, reviews, and networks can be shortcuts in building trust. The why behind this one goes deep into psychology—but it’s rooted in the idea that “birds of a feather flock together” theory.
People trust what they understand. They tend to trust what is familiar or similar to themselves. When put in action this can be really powerful for brands. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are able to reach new audiences just by leveraging individual networks. This point really underscores the importance of honing in on your messaging to ensure you’re talking to the right audience.
03—Make it easy for them to purchase by being consistent. Product consistency is a no-brainer, we all know the products our brands create must be consistent. But let’s take this one (or two) step further. The customer journey through your brand, the brand identity, and the transparency through the process requires an added layer of consistency. Why? Because when the experience is inconsistent, the customer must do the heavy lifting to connect the dots. So, whether you are designing a digital product or building a service, take the time to be consistent—it builds trust.
Like we said earlier—trust feels ambiguous for most brands. But it doesn’t have to be. Trust, at the end of the day, is earned in the most old-fashioned of ways—through showing up and doing what you said you would. True for humans, and true for brands.
