Editorial
The Gist
- Trust drives loyalty. Building brand trust leads to stronger customer loyalty, repeat business and advocacy.
- Measuring trust matters. Moving beyond NPS, brand trust metrics capture long-term loyalty, resilience and deeper customer relationships.
- Activate trust insights. Use trust measurement to guide brand actions, shape customer experiences and communicate trust-building efforts effectively.
Customers expect brands to not only deliver excellent products and services but to do so in a transparent, ethical and empathetic way. Building deep customer trust is key to driving long-term growth and advocacy.
Why Brand Trust Matters for Business Success
Brand trust is a direct pathway to profitability in business. It accelerates transactions, deepens customer loyalty, strengthens relationships and increases productivity through stronger team cohesion. Research consistently shows that trust-based organizations enjoy increased revenues, ongoing customer retention and sustained success, making trust an indispensable asset for driving profits.
Edelman’s 2020 Trust Barometer highlighted the importance of trust to brands across the themes of loyalty, engagement and advocacy:
- Loyalty: 75% of people with high brand trust say they will buy the brand’s product even if it isn’t the cheapest, it is the only brand of the product they’ll buy, and they will immediately check out a new product from that brand to purchase.
- Engagement: 60% of people with high brand trust say they’re comfortable sharing personal information with the brand, and they pay attention to the brand’s communications.
- Advocacy: 78% with high brand trust say they’ll likely share or repost content about the brand, will recommend the brand to others and will defend the brand against criticism.
These statistics underscore how crucial trust is in a competitive landscape. Trust drives purchase decisions and helps brands weather crises and market shifts.
Related Article: Trust Doomsday: What to Do in the Year of the Brand Trust Crisis
Can’t We Just Measure Net Promoter Score?
Many organizations rely on Net Promoter Score (NPS) as their primary measure of customer sentiment. It’s easy, and its widely adopted nature enables benchmarkable metrics.
But NPS has limitations, as it only captures short-term customer sentiment and focuses mainly on how likely someone is to recommend a product.
Measuring brand trust, however, offers a more nuanced view. While not as widespread, measuring trust is more valuable than NPS because it captures long-term loyalty, brand resilience and authentic customer relationships. Trust goes beyond a simple recommendation; it reflects deeper connections based on reliability, transparency and shared values.
Unlike NPS — which is easily influenced by short-term tactics and is often just a snapshot of sentiment — trust provides a robust indicator of future behavior and advocacy. It also addresses all touchpoints in the customer experience, which makes it a better predictor of sustained support. While NPS offers a quick sentiment snapshot, trust is a comprehensive metric for strategic decision-making and understanding true customer loyalty.
Frameworks to Measure Brand Trust
Below are a few common frameworks to consider that are effective at measuring trust.
Government Guidelines on Measuring Trust
In December 2021, the U.S. government issued an Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government. This order highlighted the urgent need for government agencies to rebuild public trust through improved customer experiences. It was then followed up with an in-depth report, Managing Customer Experience and Improving Service Delivery.
The key trust metric outlined in this order is a single question rated on a five-point Likert scale: “This [interaction/service] increased my trust in [service provider].” Depending on the answer, there are follow up questions:
Harvard Business Review/Deloitte HX TrustID Survey
In 2022, the Harvard Business Review and Deloitte released the HX TrustID Survey, which offers a more comprehensive look at measuring brand trust. It is based on four factors: humanity, transparency, capability and reliability.
The survey asks respondents to state the extent to which they agree with the following statements:
- Humanity: [Brand] demonstrates empathy and kindness toward me and treats everyone fairly.
- Transparency: [Brand] openly shares information, motives and choices in straightforward and plain language.
- Capability: [Brand] creates quality products, services and/or experiences.
- Reliability: [Brand] consistently delivers on promises and experiences.
The survey then asks four follow-up questions per component. Ultimately it provides a methodology to calculate the HX TrustID score.
The Trust Equation
The Trust Equation was released in 2000 by Charles H. Green, Andrea P. Howe and David H. Maister. Although it is based on an individual's ability to earn trust, it is also relevant for brands to consider. It highlights that trust is composed of credibility, reliability, intimacy and self-orientation.
- Credibility: Perceived expertise and trustworthiness in a specific field.
- Reliability: Consistent fulfillment of promises and obligations.
- Intimacy: Establishment of strong emotional connections and understanding.
- Self-orientation: Prioritization of personal interests over others’ needs or concerns.
A Nuanced Measurement Approach Is Needed
Measuring brand trust requires a multi-faceted approach, combining qualitative research, surveys and analytics. Start with qualitative methods like interviews and ethnographic studies to uncover drivers and inhibitors of trust. Use these insights to build targeted surveys and metrics. Complement findings with analytics such as complaints, social media sentiment and engagement patterns to gain quantitative signals. Segment data by demographics and personas for an intersectional view that reflects your unique context.
This integrated approach provides a deeper understanding of trust dynamics for your brand and services.
Related Article: Building a Trust-First Brand: Transparency and Consent in Marketing
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Building a Strategy to Activate Brand Trust Insights
Measuring trust is just the first step; the true value lies in activating those insights to create deeper customer confidence. Steps to take include:
- Build a trust measurement strategy and share it with other groups and leaders.
- Execute mixed methods research every six months to a year to understand how trust is changing.
- Establish a cross-functional trust council to analyze the research findings and analytics.
- Identify priority areas for improvement and develop a roadmap.
- Encourage teams to experiment with new approaches, like holding co-creation sessions with customers to brainstorm innovative ways to build trust.
- Consistently communicate your trust-building efforts through multiple channels.
By taking decisive action guided by robust insights, brands can shape their products and services around a foundation of unwavering integrity that strengthens bonds with their audiences.
Trust Is a Competitive Advantage
While NPS and other customer satisfaction metrics are important and can offer value, they have limitations. Building deep customer trust is mission critical. When customers feel they can truly rely on your organization to be transparent, empathetic, principled and accountable, it opens the door to greater loyalty, advocacy and business success for an enduring competitive advantage.
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