5 ways B2B businesses can build trust in brands

Trust is essential in B2B. Trust is essential for B2B transactions. Although tried-and-true marketing tactics are a part of the puzzle, trust building goes beyond emailing leads and running ads. Trust has fallen to an all-time low due to public reactions to the way governments and corporations handled Covid, political instability and misinformation, income inequality and other social issues.

Business leaders must develop concrete strategies to ensure trust is a key component of brand growth and business success. The 2022 B2B Trusted brands Report shows that technology-focused brands are the most trusted. However, this doesn't mean that other businesses should not take notice. No matter what industry you are in, trusting brands is crucial to sustainable growth in B2B.

Let's take a look at five ways that B2B companies can build trust in their brand.

What is brand trust? Brand trust is the level of confidence that your customers and business partners have in you. Building trust internally starts with honest mission statements, visions and value propositions. It is becoming increasingly clear that B2B leaders who are committed to fostering a positive brand image and promoting those values within their organizations bring credibility and trust.

Why trust is so important? In other words, they will be more comfortable in starting or maintaining a business relationship with you, even if you are not the market leader in pricing, speed or availability. Losing brand trust can have a devastating effect on any company's longevity.

How B2B Companies can Build Brand Trust

• Transparency and honesty are key
• Establish an emotional connection
• Be educated, not sold!
• Clear values should be displayed
• Original content

1. Transparency and honesty are key

Trust in your brand is built on honesty and transparency. To help customers and clients better understand your company's actions, this means being transparent with them about their account details and the product and service details. Transparency in your corporate and leadership levels through social media, blogs and press releases can strengthen trust and help to solidify your integrity.

Transparency in your business's day-today operations can help customers and partners gain a better understanding of your culture. This will make them feel more connected with your people, develop a personal connection and build trust.

2. Establish an emotional connection

Building trust is a key part of transparency and honesty. You must create emotional connections to show that you are able to understand your audience, their needs, and theirs. Buyers receive a lot of pitches, emails, calls, and ads every week. Empathy with your audience is a great way to show empathy and build trust. It shows that you care about your customers and has solutions that are best for them. Being relatable and showing how your solutions affect users on a personal level is key to emotional connections. B2B transactions can put a buyer’s reputation at risk. It is important to build trust and maintain that relationship.

3. Do not sell, but educate

B2B business often offers solutions, rather than just a product or service. This is unlike B2C. It can be difficult to sell when you are talking about improving efficiency, output and productivity through behind-the scenes systems and services. However, proving a return on investment months or even years later is more difficult and less trustworthy than seeing the product's immediate results. B2B sales cycles are often slow, which gives you plenty of opportunity to provide an educational experience that shows potential, but is not pushy.

Remember that you are ultimately selling to people, not businesses. Your content and online presence can provide tangible value to potential buyers, which will help them become qualified leads and eventually sales leads.

4. Clear values should be displayed

B2B companies have traditionally avoided discussing cultural and social issues for fear of being backlash from the public or being marginalized. It is becoming more common for B2B brands to take a stand on major issues. This can help you demonstrate your values and build trust. It is important to carefully consider which issues you should address and which ones to avoid. Also, it is crucial to make sure that your company values are reflected in the way you address critical issues. Your business will function better if it reflects your values. Customers and employees can understand your vision better and feel more comfortable working with you.

Transparency with prospects and employees is a sign of your values and builds trust through shared principles. Demonstrate how you are addressing these issues positively and explain to the industry why your vision is so beneficial.

5. Original content

In their quest for trust, the best B2B brands are those that have original research and thoughtful content. Your brand will benefit greatly from your data collection and the creation of solid content pieces that share key insights. This will increase trust and build confidence with your readers. Original content and research show that you are committed to solving their problems. This level of concern helps to tie all aspects of your brand trust together, including the educational and emotional.

B2B marketing content should be designed to help a buyer at a specific stage of their journey. Content creation is about building trust. It's about focusing on innovative ideas, how you are different and what your solution means for the industry.

Start Building Brand Trust

The 2022 Trusted Brands Report reveals that technology companies are the most trusted B2B brand, but the five strategies discussed here can be applied to any industry. The Trusted Brands Report is available for download. It explains how the Trust Factor is calculated, the breakdown of trusted B2B companies by industry, as well as key lessons that can be learned to build trust. Learn more about building trust in brands Get in touch with one of our experts today.