Survey: Marketers Must Work to Gain (and Maintain) Buyer Trust

As marketers look to keep up with customer expectations, new research suggests that buyers are skeptical of their efforts right out of the gate.

SurveyMonkey recently published the “7 Highly Effective Ways to Elevate Buyer Trust” report, which contained responses from buyers on their perception of marketing practices. The statistics found that only 9 percent of customers “highly trust” brands the first time they engage.

That being said, marketers still start with a slight advantage over new customers – 89 percent trust brands at least “a little” when they make a purchase for the first time. The chances are even better when customers come back the second time around – 67 percent rate their trust as “high” by the time they return to purchase again.

As it turns out, customer experience plays a critical role in whether buyers ultimately trust marketers and their brand. A total of 86 percent of people claim that a negative personal experience impacts their overall trust.

After a poor experience with a product or service, 51 percent of customers typically want a refund. However, just 5 percent of people claim that a bad experience means they will “never” purchase from a brand again.

The Impact of a Positive Customer Experience

This is not the first time research has indicated that buyers expect a positive customer experience from marketers.

Recently, PwC surveyed 15,000 people from 12 countries to assess customer attitudes toward brands and the customer experience. The majority of respondents (73 percent) claimed that customer experience is an important factor in their purchasing decision. However, only 49 percent said that companies currently provide a positive customer experience.

About 65 percent believe that a positive experience with a business is more influential than great advertising. Forty-two percent of respondents said that they would pay for a friendlier, welcoming experience.