The science of Trust
We can all agree on the importance of Trust.
But there’s no credit for simply knowing that Trust is the problem to solve. Yet, leading consumer Trust studies have not yet provided scientific guidance on what drives consumer Trust in brands, let alone how brands can improve on the drivers of Trust...until now.
Decision Design is bringing you The 2024 Consumer Trust study
Rethinking Trust: Australia's first science-based study to uncover what really drives consumer-brand Trust.
Trust is the hidden currency of success
Trust is the currency of cooperation, it’s an economy, it’s been central to our human evolution; so be certain there is success to be mined from you knowing how to be trusted.
Historic Trust measures only scratched the surface
Up until now, we’ve had leaderboards such as the Roy Morgan Risk Monitor measuring brands on their consumer Trust wins and losses, but no way of understanding the drivers of this Trust. We knew who was trusted, but not necessarily why.
Going deeper on consumer-brand Trust
To address the critical knowledge gap in what scientifically drives consumer Trust in brands and practically how brands can improve on these Trust drivers, Decision Design conducted a multi-category study.
Consumer-brand Trust drivers are not what you might think
The study revealed that the often-overlooked 'humanistic' factors, comprised two-thirds of what drives corporate Trust in Australia, with key driver nuances identified within each category tested.
The factors that build consumer Trust
We've developed a scientific formula for how consumers Trust organisations. The formula is built from 2x fundamental factors – importantly, both of which have nothing to do with transparency.
Humanistic factors are focused on how an organisation lives up to its values and is seen to do good by its customers.
Our study found that it's often these humanistic factors which get sidelined when attempting to build Trust, even though they're a majority driver of consumer Trust.
Functional factors are based on an organisation's ability to deliver on its promise.
Although not a key driver, these factors often take the focus when trying to build Trust.
So that you can maximise your Trust effectiveness, we have expertly developed a scientific model for each of the 3x types of Trust:
- Consumer to brand
- Interpersonal
- Institution to institution
Complete our 100% online behaviour change course - The Scientific Drivers of Trust to effectively build, maintain and win-back Trust.
Understanding what drives Trust
Do you know what drives Trust in your brand category?
When it comes to corporate reputation, Trust directly impacts the business's bottom line. If we take an operationalised approach to establishing Trust and use the scientifically-proven model of Trust to inform all company decisions, we can create an organisation that breeds confidence and is assured in its trustworthiness.
- If your brand faced a Trust crisis, would you and your team know what to do?
- Would you know what scientific levers to pull to maintain reputation and avoid a disaster?
- Do you know where your brand sits right now and what scientific drivers you should be focused on to increase your Trust measures?
We tested 36x brands across 10x categories. We uncovered the nuanced Trust drivers for each category.
Trust is a decisive factor influencing consumer behaviour.
Trust is the glue that keeps the economy turning - we need to get it right.
Trust is a problem we all need to solve
The modern world doesn’t work if we aren’t willing to put our Trust in organisations, governments and communities. As leaders, we need to recognise the multifaceted nature of Trust and adopt a framework to build and maintain it, because the cost of getting Trust wrong is too high to ignore.
Building the Trust gap
Many brands still don’t understand how to build, maintain, or rebuild Trust. To stay competitive, businesses need to go beyond reactive Trust-building strategies and adopt a proactive, science-backed approach to foster long-term Trust.
Transparency isn't the answer
Many corporate leaders believe that transparency is key to trust. But 9 in 10 Australians believe that transparency alone isn’t enough to build or rebuild Trust during crises. It’s not about opening the books, it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons.
Are you ready to dive into Trust?
Decision Design are the experts on the science of Trust. Join other leading brands leveraging our deep expertise to build, maintain and win-back Trust.
Discover what scientifically drives consumer Trust in your industry. It’s fundamental to effectively build Trust in your brand.
We diagnose the nuanced consumer-brand Trust dimensions for leading brands and develop bespoke, scientific Trust playbooks to ensure an always-on Trust approach.
Practical, science-led Trust training and courses. Build your skills in the three types of Trust and how to scientifically build, maintain and win-back Trust.