In a world where people are less often sure where and in whom to put their trust, taking on the role of “trusted advisor” comes with an extra burden of ensuring you earn, and keep, the trust between you and your customers.

In fact, a 2021 survey of 1,000 consumers concluded that more than 80% consider trust a deciding factor in their buying decisions, despite the fact that only 34% trust the brands they use. As trust in institutions diminishes, consumers are increasingly skeptical of where they put their money and receive their information. How do you then lay the foundation of trust in both your brand and your personal interactions?

Alignment

How often do you check the pulse of your customers? If you aren’t already, conducting annual business planning is the foundation of ensuring alignment. However, this isn’t something that you can do and consider yourself done for the year. By regularly checking in with your customers, you will be able to meet and exceed their always-evolving preferences and business needs more easily. It will also enable you to understand what trust means to them, and what their expectations are to make sure you gain or maintain their trust.

This needs to be done at both the interpersonal level as well as the organizational level. For example, when is the last time you ensured alignment between your marketing/social media messages and the pulse of your customer base? Is your audience engaging with your content? Across the board, have we followed through on our promises?

A recent PWC survey revealed four consistent areas that define trust for consumers, employees and business executives:

Are these the top of the list for your customers?

Authentic Messages Always Win over Spin

How great is your new solution? Delivering a marketing message that conveys the true business value without the platitudes will catch the right kind of attention from your customer base, reinforce the trust in your brand, and reduce the skepticism that can quickly seep in when there is a potential sniff of baloney in the air. The loss of credibility from overstated promises or half-truths will eat any short-term gains you might realize. Focus on building a reputation as a reliable information source that people depend on.

As a vendor, it’s also our job to help support you on this. Our customer-direct messaging is designed to reinforce that trust in the solutions you recommend and build upon. Our goal is to ensure the Cox brand is respected and trusted so you can go in knowing there is a strong foundation to work from.

At the end of the day, trust is gained in the one-on-one interactions we have with our customers and partners. We’ve all seen business relationships flourish, with easy and transparent dialogue driving real business outcomes. We’ve likely seen the opposite, with someone who you feel you just can’t trust, no matter the approach.

The magic to this success falls to the same fundamentals we should all be striving for in both business and our personal lives: Show up, keep our word, be transparent and authentic, and come to all relationships with a sincere interest in finding the best solution.

As the Vice President Channel Sales at Cox Business, John Muscarella is responsible for the overall readiness strategy for the indirect business sales channels. His team has the primary responsibility to develop, implement ­and sell solutions utilizing the Cox Communications network throughout the country. John has more than 25 years of experience in business management, which includes sales and leadership positions with companies such as Polycom, Sprint and EDS.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.