How to build trust in your marketing
Trust is more than a virtue—it is the foundation of any effective marketing strategy.
As marketers and businesses work busily to finalise their strategies for 2025, the urgency of fostering brand trust has escalated.
When Edelman revealed the 25th edition of their Trust Barometer at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the picture it painted was stark. It revealed a crisis of public trust.
While businesses remain the most trusted institution globally, over governments, NGOs, and media, the report revealed an underlying crisis. A huge 68% of people believe business leaders purposely mislead the public. Many aggrieved respondents revealed a frustration that businesses are not doing enough to address misinformation or provide trustworthy information.
This groundswell of concern shows that businesses can’t afford to overlook the importance of taking explicit efforts to further transparency and credibility. The data makes it clear—businesses need to do more if they’re going to maintain public and consumer trust.
This is a challenge that marketers are uniquely positioned to address. In a crowded online space, crammed with almost limitless quantities of questionable content, misinformation, and AI-generated slop, a marketer’s job is to cut through.
In these conflicted times, leveraging clear, consistent, and audience-focused strategies with trust at their heart is going to be essential for repairing and strengthening connections with the public.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST IN MARKETING
Trust has always been the cornerstone of effective marketing. We all intuitively know this. According to Salsify's 2025 Customer Research Report, an astounding 87% of shoppers are willing to pay more for products from brands they trust. This trend is even more pronounced in fields like healthcare marketing and medical marketing when public health and individual lives are at stake. But whether you’re fostering patient relationships or B2B partnerships, investing in trustworthy communication in 2025 is essential.
STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING TRUST IN MARKETING
Regardless of industry—be it healthcare, technology, or manufacturing—transparency and consistency are non-negotiable in B2B marketing.
1. Ensure transparency and consistency in communication
Earning trust involves providing consistent, accurate, and engaging content across every channel. According to Salsify, 54% of shoppers have abandoned a purchase due to inconsistent product content, and 71% have returned items that did not match their online descriptions.
Avoid sweeping statements and back up claims with data, and deliver uniform messaging across all channels to reinforce credibility.
2. Evidence-based marketing
Demonstrating your expertise through evidence is crucial in establishing trust. In healthcare marketing, this could mean showcasing published research or sharing anonymized success metrics from previous clients. Utilise social media to highlight these achievements and build credibility.
3. Track trust through engagement metrics
While claiming trustworthiness is easy, measuring it is not. Monitor metrics such as time spent on case studies, depth of engagement with your articles, and leverage customer feedback to gauge how much your audience trusts your content.
CASE STUDY: BUILDING TRUST WITH TECHNOLOGY IN MOTION
Code Milk partnered with highly specialised medical provider, Technology In Motion to develop a robust brand narrative focused on trust through compelling messaging and strategic content marketing. By embedding trust at every stage of their communication, we helped reinforce their well-justified credibility in the marketplace. This involved aligning their messaging with customer pain points, ensuring transparent communication, and showcasing results-driven success stories.
The results speak for themselves:
- 95% lead-to-MQL conversion rate, optimising the marketing funnel
- 50% MQL-to-sale conversion, turning prospects into customers
- 4x increase in web engagement
- 1300 leads per year up from 32
- 14% increase in social media followers across platforms
The Edelman report serves as a wake-up call for businesses to rebuild trust actively. Marketers have the power to lead this change by prioritising transparent, consistent, and evidence-based communication. Incorporating trust-building measures into your strategy not only enhances business outcomes but also strengthens long-term relationships with your audience.
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