All Businesses Want to Build Trust. Few Know How to Do It Properly.

What does it really mean to trust something or someone? Typical definitions equate trust with truthfulness. To be trusted is to tell the truth. But that misses a key reality related to trust: trust is multidimensional. Having low trust in someone in one area doesn't mean we won't rely on them in another.

Imagine a situation where you have a close colleague, Sarah, whom you've worked with for several years. Sarah’s a bit of a liar. She often says different things to different people to get ahead or look good. But here’s the thing. Despite her untruthfulness, she’s also known to consistently meet deadlines and deliver high-quality work. ?

One day, you're faced with a tight deadline and need to delegate an important task. Without hesitation, you assign it to Sarah. Based on her past behavior you trust Sarah to complete the assignment on time and to a high quality. ??

Why? Because over time, you've learned to anticipate her future actions. You trust that she will not only complete the task but will do so with the same level of diligence and expertise she has demonstrated in the past. This trust isn't about Sarah telling the truth or being honest; it's about your confidence in her future behavior based on her past actions in the context you care about: delivering high-quality work. You can predict, with a high degree of certainty, how she will handle the task, which allows you to make decisions with less anxiety and more assurance. Whilst you might not rely on Sarah to tell the truth any more than you would a politician, you can expect her to deliver high-quality work. You trust her.?

The CIB Model of Trust?

This is why when you’re thinking about measuring trust it’s important to consider what type of trust you need and why. Our CIB model of trust divides trust into three core pillars: competence, integrity and benevolence (CIB).

• Competence means having the ability to do what you say you will.
• Integrity involves consistently acting in an honest and ethical manner. ?

• Benevolence is about showing genuine care and good intentions toward others.

These pillars have all been shown by research to have a meaningful impact on trust. By measuring them, we gain a more complete picture of how trustworthy a person or a company is, where their trust gaps lie, and what they can do to close them.

For example, an organisation might be highly competent but lacking in benevolence and integrity, which can affect how much we trust them. And for some organizations, some of these areas may matter more than others. It is less incumbent on Amazon to be benevolent than competent, for instance, if my main priority as a customer is seeing the parcel I just ordered arrive on my doorstep in t-1 hours. However, if I am switching my attention to considering whether Amazon might be a suitable employer, benevolence and integrity will likely move higher up my pecking order of trust priorities.

So, whilst it’s generally advisable to obtain a reasonable baseline level across all three core trust drivers, measuring trust according to its different facets can help you to decipher which facets might be more or less important for your organisation at which points. Just as you might trust your colleague Sarah in one area but in another, organisations must recognise which aspects of trust—whether competence, integrity, or benevolence—are most relevant to their goals and audience.

Bringing it to reality

Finding a trust measure that links your trust score directly to organizational outcomes - like customer loyalty, advocacy, and purchase intentions - - is critical for business success. Not only will it allow you to see the potential impact of increasing trust, but it also means you can pinpoint which facets of trust can be most useful for which outcomes. For instance, demonstrating the benevolent actions you’ve taken as a company may be important for building advocacy and liking, whilst building competence may be key for driving repeat purchases.

Understanding how your company fares on the core trust pillars relative to your competitors can also be useful. This allows you to spot opportunities for obtaining a competitive advantage. In our Trust Analytics research, we see a common pattern across industries whereby companies tend to max out on competence but fall short on benevolence and integrity. In this context, boosting the latter two can help to set your company apart quite quickly – assuming you can demonstrate it well.

What does it mean to demonstrate it well? Unfortunately, it’s usually not enough to simply identify trust gaps that need plugging. Many businesses spend a long time working out the right strategy to build trust. Months are spent figuring out what needs to change and why. And this is of course key. But then not enough time is spent on the how of executing that strategy to ensure it ‘lands’ with the right audience. You might have all the evidence in the world supporting your approach, but if you haven’t thought through how to put that evidence into practice, all the hard work poured into your strategy will likely fall flat.

By leveraging insights into human behavior, companies can craft strategies that resonate deeply with their audience, ensuring that trusted behaviours land effectively.

The benefits of getting this right are plentiful. Trusted companies outperform their counterparts by nearly three times in total return to shareholders. Companies with high levels of trust experience 76% higher employee engagement .? 8 out of 10 consumers say that trusting a brand is a deciding factor in their buying decisions .? 1 in 2 high trusting consumers are likely to stay loyal to a company even when faced with negative publicity or product issues, showing that trust also acts as a protective buffer in times of crisis .

Trust, as we’ve learnt is not isolated to truth-telling, but rather it's shaped by the behaviors we observe, the contexts in which they occur, and the people involved. It is a complex, dynamic force that requires careful, thoughtful management. Trust us, it’s worth the effort.