Trust in Marketing: The Only Thing More Elusive Than a Good Parking Spot

You know what drives me crazy? Everyone's obsessed with reach in marketing. "We need more eyes! More impressions! More followers!" Meanwhile, nobody believes a word you're saying. What's the point of being seen if nobody believes you? It's like those people who spend two hours getting dressed up to go to the grocery store. Who are you trying to impress? The cashier doesn't care!

THE TRUST DEFICIT IS KILLING BUSINESS

Look, I don't know if you've noticed, but nobody trusts anybody anymore. It's pervasive. It's everywhere. And for businesses? It's a nightmare of biblical proportions.

You think customers just hand over their credit card these days? No! They need convincing, they need proof, they need seventeen blog posts and a recommendation from their third cousin twice removed before they'll buy your software. And all that extra effort? It costs money! It drives up your expenses! It's preposterous!

What happened to the days when you could just say, "Hey, this product works," and people would believe you? Gone! Vanished! Like those little paper tickets they used to give you at the deli counter.

THE STATISTICS ARE DEPRESSING... EVEN BY MY STANDARDS

Let me throw some numbers at you. 

Only 23% of Americans trust their government. Twenty-three percent! That's less than the percentage of people who believe in aliens! At least aliens have the decency not to promise you lower taxes.

The media? Only 36% of Americans trust them. I'm actually surprised it's that high. Have you watched the news lately? It's just people yelling at each other about things none of them understand.

Science? Trust in science is at an all-time low post-pandemic. Science! The one thing we're supposed to trust! Next thing you know, people will stop believing in gravity, and we'll all be walking around with paperweights attached to our shoes.

BUSINESS TRUST: A COMEDY OF ERRORS

And don't think businesses are exempt from this trust catastrophe. Oh no. Less than a third of employees feel trusted by their boss. And less than half of business leaders trust their employees! How do you even function in that environment? It's like a bad marriage where both people think the other is cheating.

Here's a real kick in the pants: customers trust other customers and employees more than they trust executives. Executives might as well wear shirts that say, "Don't believe a word I'm saying."

And the claims B2B marketing makes in content? Buyers are more skeptical than I am at a dinner party where someone offers to pick up the check.

That's not a trend; that's an indictment!

IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING SEEN, IT'S ABOUT BEING BELIEVED

Here's where I get philosophical—bear with me. A marketing firm called Praytell did a survey with YouGov, polling 1,300 Americans about where they get information for purchasing decisions:

• 24% prefer traditional media (probably people who still have landlines)
• 25% prefer emerging media (people who think TikTok is a legitimate source of financial advice)
• 51% prefer a mix (people who can't make up their minds)

The point—and I do have one—is that marketing puts all its emphasis on reach when it should be focusing on being believed. It's like having a megaphone but speaking gibberish. Great, everyone can hear you, but nobody knows what you're saying!

As Praytell put it: "For brands and advertisers, the question is no longer merely how to be seen, but how to be believed in a world where influence is increasingly diffuse, and trust is harder to earn than ever before."

That's pretty good. I couldn't have said it better myself. Well, maybe I could have, but I don't want to show off.

THE REAL PROBLEM: WE DON'T TRUST YOU

There's all this talk in B2B circles about how marketing has to change because it's not working. They focus on sales-marketing alignment or the mix of tactics. But that's like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic! The ship is still going down!

The truth—and I'm going to give it to you straight—is that the mix doesn't matter because buyers don't believe the message. You can A/B test until the cows come home (whatever that means), but if nobody trusts you, you're wasting your time.

Or—and here's a radical thought—we can give marketing and communications teams a new mandate: focus on building trust. What a concept! Being honest and transparent instead of trying to trick people into buying things they don't need. Revolutionary!

WHAT NOW? I DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS!

Look, if I had all the answers, I'd be sitting on a beach somewhere, not writing blog posts. But here's what I do know: if you want people to trust you, maybe start by being trustworthy. Crazy idea, I know.

Honestly, it's not rocket science. People buy from people they trust. If they don't trust you, they won't buy from you. Or they'll make you jump through seventeen hoops before they do. Either way, you lose.

So maybe—just maybe—instead of obsessing over how many people see your message, start obsessing over how many people believe it.