For whom is the communication of trust building blocks in business crucially important?

The communication of trust building blocks is the decisive value to achieve trustworthiness with the new customer and to motivate him to make contact. This is also important for a Content marketing agency no different. Trust is the emotional basis for purchasing decisions that are rationally justified afterwards. But for whom is this elementarily important? For end customers or also in B2B? Everyday products? Valuable purchases? Consulting-intensive products and services?

First of all, it is important to distinguish between the products in which I am interested in the manufacturer of the product. With everyday products, the manufacturer is not always directly recognisable. It may only be written very small on the back. Probably because they have no interest in you looking too closely behind the scenes. And who really visits the websites of Nestlé and Danone? Even if Nestlé in particular is pilloried by NGOs time and again. Who then takes the trouble to investigate further? Hardly anyone. And who is interested in the manufacturers of writing paper, shoes (if they are not special brands) or a decorative article? For these companies, trust with the end customer is something that must not be scratched, but also does not have to be primarily communicated. The manufacturers are in the background. For the products, it is enough to have a good price/performance ratio and to be well positioned in the trade. The topic is similarly irrelevant for providers who distinguish themselves through uniqueness. The company behind my local public transport, the post office or the city administration. There is simply no alternative to apply for one's passport. So why should this organisation bother courting trust? It doesn't.

But the situation is very different when it comes to telephone, electricity and bank accounts. Just 20 years ago, telecoms were the number one choice, there was no choice in electricity and it was almost unimaginable to change bank accounts. Thank God we have a choice today. For the companies, it means that we as consumers think very carefully about who we choose. This is where trust plays a paramount role. Because even if the alternative electricity provider looks green and cool at first glance, I want to be convinced that they mean what they say and will still be offering their services in a few years' time. Trust is elementary here. The same applies to bank details. I'm already embarrassed to still have an account with Deutsche Bank. The trust that was at a maximum and unshakeable here in the days of Alfred Herrhausen has been fundamentally ruined by Donald Trump's house bank under the leadership of Josef Ackermann and Anshu Jain. And when I then look around for an alternative, trustworthiness is the most important thing of all - well ahead of cost. Trust is thus important for all those companies where I am interested in the company itself and not in a particular brand of a product.

This is even more true for all personal services. Going to a doctor you don't trust? Unthinkable (at most if there is no alternative to a particular specialist in the wider area). Go to a lawyer whose integrity you have to doubt? Choosing a new tax advisor who only seeks his own profit? To be advised by a consultant where you are not really sure whether he has experience in the specific field? You will certainly quickly realise that in all these areas it is very important that you can muster a certain amount of trust for the provider in advance. At least when it comes to new clients, this is also the case in areas such as hairdressers, cosmetics, fitness trainers and other body-related services. I want to see that there is a passion behind the offer. At least that was the case for me when I had to choose a barber after growing a full beard last year. If price is not the deciding factor for me (then I could get my beard cut at the main station for 8 euros), but I am looking for a barber for the next few years, all the trust building blocks I described in the last post play a role. How much experience does he have? Is he passionate about what he does? What do the results look like? Is he close by? Can I expect him to still be there in the foreseeable future? etc.

For all decisions involving a lot of money, trust is the most important value of all. Which architect should design my house (maybe the only one I will build in my life - it has to sit)? The same goes here for real estate agents, interior designers, builders, general contractors and others involved in this important decision. From which car dealership will I buy my car (and bring it back later if something breaks down)? Which asset manager (if I have one) do I entrust my treasure to? And if in doubt, I would rather buy an expensive watch from a dealer I trust than from an anonymous internet platform - unless it succeeds in communicating its trustworthiness online in such a credible way that I consider this alternative after all.

Of course, it is the provider's duty to justify this leap of faith later in a personal meeting. But first of all, it has to come to that. In most of these areas, at least in the city, I have a wide choice of providers. Since most of us now live in an environment where we didn't grow up and thus can't or won't automatically ask someone for a recommendation for every eventuality, you have to look around yourself. What could be more obvious than checking out websites? And even though Google reviews and professional rating sites already give an indication of the quality of the provider, we all know that these are not necessarily to be trusted. The top ratings can be made by friends or simply bought in. And the negative reviews from someone who simply had a bad day when they visited the shop, or even caught a slip with me, which is in no way representative. So with all personal services, it's worth thinking about how to properly convey your trustworthiness on your own website, regardless of this.

This also and especially applies to B2B business. Here, long-term cooperation and reliability play a major role. In today's world, many companies no longer operate locally, but at least supraregionally or even globally. Business is often initiated via trade fairs or visits by sales representatives. Of course, because trust can be built up in a personal conversation. Now, in the Corona crisis, this possibility has disappeared. But even independently of this, more and more suppliers did not want to rely on these channels alone, e.g. because it is simply not possible to get the desired number of Generate leads. If a trade fair only takes place every few years, it would be tragic not to use the interim period to acquire new customers around the world. If the approach is via LinkedIn, articles in trade journals or Google Ads, for example, the website again has the task of convincing the potential new customer to make contact. In most cases, a personal consultation is required first. With the trust modules in the right application, the probability of a positive differentiation from the competition and of the new customer making contact is high.

In summary: Both in end-customer business and in B2B, trust plays the decisive role in winning new customers. Only for companies in the background with everyday products and for suppliers with uniqueness status is the importance secondary. For all others, it is worth studying the individual trust building blocks in order to successfully address new customers.