If your customers (or donors), prospects, investors, stakeholders, and the general public consider your organisation to be honest and capable, and acting with good intentions, then it’s safe to say you are well on the path to being a trusted brand.
These groups have confidence that your organisation will do the right thing, keep your promises and behave ethically. In business, trust is more valuable than money, contracts or branding – because it underpins every successful relationship, transaction, and strategy put in place. When people trust a brand, they feel safe and confident doing business with it. A high-trust company feels like a safe pair of hands.
Most business leaders – around 93% – agree it’s their responsibility to build and maintain trust. And customers feel the same way. Trust isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s the foundation for every relationship a business has.
Why trust matters
Leaders across the board say that trust has a direct impact on business success. And research backs that up; companies that have high levels of trust often perform far better than their competitors. One study even found that trusted companies can generate up to 400% more shareholder value than their peers.
In one survey, 61% of people said they recommended a company because they trusted it and almost half said they spent more with businesses they trust. Trust builds loyalty, encourages word-of-mouth and strengthens your reputation – all of which help businesses grow.
On the other hand, when trust is lost, customers tend to walk away. Around 4 in 10 people say they’ve stopped buying from a company after their trust was broken. 75% of consumers say they won’t buy from companies they don’t trust with their personal data. So, losing trust often means losing business.
How do you measure trust?
Measuring trust isn’t easy – it’s a feeling, after all – but it can be done. Many companies use things like customer satisfaction scores as a proxy, but these only give part of the picture. To truly understand how much people trust your organisation, you need to ask the right questions and really listen to the answers.
Surveys are a great tool. Asking direct questions like Do you trust us to handle your data responsibly? or How confident are you in our support when something goes wrong? can give you a meaningful trust score you can track over time.
There are also well-established tools out there. The Edelman Trust Barometer, for example, is a widely-used annual study of public trust in institutions. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is another good indicator – if customers say they’d recommend you to others, it likely means they trust you. You can also spot trust in behaviour; repeat business and positive reviews are good signs.
How AI can build – or break – trust
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to be a powerful force for good, but only if it’s used with care. When applied responsibly, AI can enhance customer experiences, personalise interactions and anticipate needs before they’re even expressed. That kind of intelligent, responsive service builds confidence quickly and at scale. But there’s a flip side. If the systems behind the AI are flawed – if the data is biased, the model ungoverned or the deployment rushed – AI doesn’t just fail quietly, it fails publicly and at speed.
AI doesn’t filter out bad information. It learns from whatever it’s fed, meaning that historic mistakes, poor-quality data or patchy governance can be amplified. From recommending the wrong product to mishandling personal data, one misstep can damage hard-earned trust in an instant. As our boardroom horror story, The Shadow Inside the Machine, warns – AI can end up mimicking our worst habits as well as our best: replicating biases, making inaccurate assumptions or even inventing facts with total confidence.
Read our boardroom horror story, The Shadow Inside the Machine, to understand:
- What’s at stake when it comes to using AI
- How you can leverage AI to create connected customer experiences
- What can go wrong – and how to avoid it
Also available as an audiobook.
Unfortunately, customers feel the effects. When AI gets it right, it can create seamless, connected customer experiences. But when it gets it wrong – when recommendations feel creepy, chatbots go rogue or privacy is mishandled – it can leave people questioning not just the tool, but the entire brand. With 76% of customers willing to switch after a single bad experience, the stakes are high.
Using AI to build trust needs to start with strong foundations. Reliable, well-managed data, secure, scalable systems, clear accountability – if those things aren’t in place, AI won’t fix the cracks, it’ll widen them. Don’t just ask yourself Can we use AI here? but also Should we? and more importantly Will this enhance or erode the trust people place in us? Done right, AI can be a trust multiplier. Done carelessly, it can become the fastest way to lose it.
Building and maintaining trust
Trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback, it isn’t something you earn once and then forget about, it’s something you build and maintain over time through consistent, authentic actions. Here’s some advice from the Salocin Group Privacy Practice:
Be transparent and honest
Share information openly and clearly – even when the message is difficult. People appreciate honesty and are more likely to trust organisations that are upfront. In tough times, leaders who admit what they don’t know (and share what they’re doing about it) often build even more trust. Transparency is especially important when it comes to data. Let customers and employees know what information you collect and why. Since 63% of people think companies aren’t transparent about data use, simply being open gives you a real edge.
Follow through on what you say
One of the easiest and most powerful ways to build trust is to keep your promises. If you say you’ll protect someone’s privacy, then make sure you’ve got strong practices in place that enable you to do that.
Make privacy and data protection a priority
That means following privacy laws like the UK GDPR, investing in security, and only collecting the data you truly need. Avoid sharing or selling personal information without clear permission. Customers notice this stuff – 79% of them say protecting their personal data is critical to trust. Around 80% companies that invest in privacy say it’s paid off in increased trust and loyalty.
Do the right thing, even when no-one’s watching
Building trust means doing things the right way – not just the easy way. That includes staying compliant with laws, regulations and ethical standards, whether they relate to finances, labour practices or your specific industry. And if something does go wrong, you need to be able to own it. Being honest about mistakes and fixing them shows integrity. Cutting corners or hiding problems erodes trust fast.
Give people control over their data
Trust also comes from giving individuals control over their own information. That means easy-to-use privacy settings, clear opt-outs and simple ways to access or delete their data. When people feel like they’re in control, they’re more likely to trust you. Think of it like setting healthy boundaries; when someone has a say in how their data is used, they’re more comfortable sharing it in the first place. So, don’t assume – ask for permission and give people choices.
Consistency is key
Building trust as a company is about showing integrity, time and time again. Every touchpoint – whether it’s a product update, service call, marketing email or privacy policy – is a chance to strengthen or weaken that trust. Over time, these efforts pay off.
People reward companies they trust – by staying loyal, recommending them to others and even forgiving the occasional slip-up. Trust truly is a powerful foundation for long-term success.
