Global market research company, CMB, has introduced a new study that evaluates where different industries and brands stand when it comes to trust. As part of this work, they defined the primary dimensions of brand trust and developed an actionable roadmap that brands in any category can use to measure, strengthen and sustain trust with their audiences.
“While many brands recognize the importance of measuring trust, they often lack a detailed understanding of exactly what trust means to their customers and prospects,” said Lori Vellucci, SVP, Practice Lead at CMB. “We set out to define that and then offer roadmap for improvement.”
Brands in the headlines catalyzed this study
The brand trust study was inspired by the fact that in this era of AI, so many brands are facing significant trust issues that take time and resources to repair. Trust is the bedrock to sustainable and repeatable business with customers. Without brand trust, companies that suffer setbacks often struggle to recover.
“SONOS, for example, the home sound system company, had technical issues with their updated app. Even after making fixes and hiring a new CEO, they continue to face trust issues,” said Monika Rogers, VP, Growth Strategy at CMB. “Meta recently announced that they are changing how they monitor hate speech. This development caused some advertisers to question the impact on their media placements. The long-term impact to their brand trust remains to be seen.”
To get at what undergirds trust, CMB launched a quantitative research study among 1,400 U.S. adults and their experiences with 70+ brands across three industries: Technology & Telecom, Financial Services, and Media, Entertainment & Culture. It also included 51 self-led videos where individuals went into detail on their feelings about brands they trusted and ones they didn’t.
Out of this work, CMB was able to develop a Brand Trust Score weighting the attributes of dependability, transparency, integrity, customer-first, responsive, and relevant.
“This means that every brand in the study has a clear idea of where they stand and what needs work,” said Jay L. Weiner, Ph. D, Chief Methodologist, CMB. “The score is designed to be actionable and help leaders align on strategic business decisions.”
Key findings underscore just how much trust matters
The CMB research revealed the following:
- Brands like PBS, Amazon, and Fidelity can use their high trust to help further differentiate their brands and insulate them from the competition.
- Brands on the lower end like Meta and Ticketmaster can improve their scores, going beyond looking at what they scored lowest on to address what is most important to consumers.
- The most trusted brands were significantly more likely to be considered for use by consumers in the next 12 months, and more likely to have satisfied customers.
- Many brands measure trust as a single question, but trust is multi-dimensional. Six key trust attributes are the foundation of trust and remain the same across categories and brands.
- The relative importance of each attribute of trust varies by category, meaning brands who focus on the right factors will be more successful in building trust.
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