Trust is a key, board level KPI for just over a fifth (22%) of brands, while almost half (49%) claim to measure trust in some form, according to new research from the IPA and Financial Times (FT).
The survey of 757 business decision makers from the FT reader panel, which integrated IPA databank stats, found 28% of the sample do not measure trust and have no intention of doing so, while 9% are not currently, but considering it.
However, FT data suggests companies which measure trust as a board level KPI are believed to be over three times more likely to report stronger profits than those which don’t, with those businesses describing trust as a “core strategic asset”.
Trust is a key, board level KPI for just over a fifth (22%) of brands, while almost half (49%) claim to measure trust in some form, according to new research from the IPA and Financial Times (FT).
The survey of 757 business decision makers from the FT reader panel, which integrated IPA databank statistics, found 28% of the sample do not measure trust and have no intention of doing so, while 9% are not currently measuring trust, but considering it.
However, the FT data suggests companies which do measure trust as a board level KPI are three times more likely to believe trust drives stronger profits than those which don’t, with those businesses describing trust as a “core strategic asset”.
Trust is now ranked the second most powerful metric for delivering business results behind product or service quality, according to analysis of the IPA Databank from 2016 to 2024. This is followed by customer loyalty, differentiation, brand image, fame and awareness. Back in 2000, trust was ranked as the sixth most effective metric. The IPA defines business results as sales, customer retention, market share, profit, new customer acquisition and price.
From a geographical perspective, UK businesses are the most likely to have trust as a KPI (27%), followed by continental Europe (20%), Asia Pacific (19%) and the US (16%).
When defining trust, almost two-thirds (62%) of respondents describe it as either the understanding that an organisation’s promises will be met, or that a business and its employees are reliable.
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Two-fifths (40%) define trust as a belief in a company’s culture and values, while for 28% it relates to faith in an organisation’s tech and systems. Over a quarter (26%) describe trust as a mutually beneficial relationship or investment.
While 67% of the sample believe trust is ‘more important’ now than ever, over half of this cohort claim trust has actually become ‘much more important’. Among those companies that have set trust as a KPI, 76% claim trust has taken on greater significance over the past five years, versus 49% of companies where it is not a metric.
When asked to list the benefits a company derives from being trusted, the majority (94%) claim trust drives customer loyalty and creates a strong brand (93%). Some 85% say trust delivers a competitive advantage, while others cite the ability to attract and retain talent (84%) and greater ease of cross-selling products/services (80%).
Most of the respondents (80%) claim trust contributes to strong investor and stakeholder confidence. Over half of the sample also point to improved profits/capital (63%), the ability to charge a price premium (62%) and greater resilience to risk (59%).
Asked to reflect on the benefits for customers of buying from a brand they trust, most respondents (87%) cited confidence when recommending the product or service to others, quicker decision making (75%) and increased potential for collaboration (71%).
Other benefits to customers cited by the sample include a lack of concern over delivery (67%), less time spent on due diligence (64%), a sense of partnership (62%) and reduced time researching alternative providers (54%).
This latter point around reducing time spent on researching alternatives proved particularly attractive to C-suite respondents, with three quarters (74%) citing this as a key benefit for customers.
Human vs AI content
According to the analysis, the most important factors in building trust are data security (59%), reliability (54%), ethics and responsibility (53%) and competent human interaction (51%).
However, trust is not rated at the same level across every industry. The advertising sector, for example, is calculated as having a 39% trust gap – an analysis of the importance of trust in a sector versus net trust score.
This is a smaller trust gap, however, than those calculated for the insurance industry (60%), government (60%), finance (59%) and cyber security (52%).
The research also highlights the importance of media context. Some 60% of respondents – rising to 70% of those aged under 45 – are more likely to trust a brand if its ads appear in so-called ‘gatekeeper’ media, such as business news brands, rather than platforms with user-generated content. Some 37% of respondents trusted the brands advertising in these gatekeeper environments to “deliver their promises”.
Trust was also examined in the context of the mainstream adoption of generative AI. Just 9% of the sample claim to trust gen AI content, with three quarters of respondents (75%) saying there isn’t enough regulation around the development of generative AI.
Indeed, 92% believe if a company were to misuse AI it would have profound effects on their trust in that organisation.
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Yet despite their misgivings, over a third (38%) of the sample are happy for a company to use AI extensively in its day-to-day operations.
When it comes to specific types of tasks, the data suggests people are still largely more comfortable with work created by humans.
Over a third (38%) of respondents trust humans more to create effective social media posts, versus 28% who would be more likely to trust AI or tech. Furthermore, half (50%) of the sample would trust humans to write a pitch, versus just over a fifth (23%) who would put their trust in AI.
According to IPA director of effectiveness Laurence Green, while attention has previously been “largely” paid to the notion of trusted communication or trusted brand, there is greater scrutiny than ever on the role of trusted media.
“This study adds to the body of evidence that trust matters, and that advertisers can and should factor the trustworthiness of the media they fund into their calculations,” Green adds. “But it is also a wider, bi-partisan reminder that the advertising business is built on trust.”
