Experience consultants Deloitte Digital and cloud communications platform Twilio have released a joint study into the divergent understanding of trust between US consumers and business leaders.
Close the Trust Gap to Unlock Business Value found that 68% of consumers spend more money on trusted brands than on brands they don’t trust. Trust also means consumers are more comfortable in brands collecting more data about them.
Leaders, however, are overconfident about the scale of consumer trust in their brands. 79% of B2C business leaders think their customers have somewhat or very high trust in their brands versus only 52% of consumers report feeling the same levels of trust.
“There has never been a more important moment for brands to get it right when it comes to trust,” said John Peto, U.S. head of Deloitte Digital and principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “This report makes it clear that the organisations who rest on their laurels or continue with a business-as-usual approach will be leaving immense value on the table, while those that align their approach with the trust signals of their core audience will likely benefit both now and in the future.”
The difference is fundamental, with consumers differing from leaders in their definition of trust – with 72% and 73% of consumers saying quality products or services and fair prices are critical to building trust. Only 38% of leaders, meanwhile, recognise fair prices as being central.
“Businesses have been forced to reevaluate how they build and maintain relationships with their customers in a digital-first world,” said Glenn Weinstein, chief customer officer at Twilio.
“With so many digital interactions between businesses and customers, there are more opportunities to strengthen or damage customer trust at every touchpoint. Our research with Deloitte Digital shows some tangible ways to deepen relationships by building trust in the ways that matter most to customers.”
The survey was conducted in Summer 2021, surveying 1,000 consumers and 500 leaders of large, business-to-consumer companies in the United States.
