In uncertain times, B2B Businesses should make building trust their priority

B2B marketers are often under pressure to make short-term sales their priority; the constant pressure to provide leads and support the sales team hitting their quarterly targets often drives a very one-dimensional strategy.

However, in times of uncertainty, when sales cycles have doubled in length or ceased being active entirely, those businesses which have prioritised building brand trust over sales, are coming out as the winners. They know that building trust is the secret to achieving longstanding relationships with customers and prospective customers, and that when people are looking for reassurance and advice, businesses are in a prime position to take on that role of the trusted advisor.

This is supported by a recent report by Edelman ( Edelman Trust Barometer special report on Covid-19) , which found that business was considered to be the most credible source of information on the virus, ahead of government and traditional media.

And at a time when people are naturally cautious, good communication is even more key to maintaining and building long-term relationships – this is even more important in the B2B buying cycle where decisions are often made over longer periods of time, and with multiple stakeholders inputting.

Those organisations getting it right find ways to get personal with their content and have meaningful conversations with their audiences. In providing a consistent, valuable experience of their brand, and focusing on partnering their customers through a difficult time, they are in a prime position to re-engage with them when the economy begins to pick-up. They ensure their content is relevant to the personal circumstances of their customers and in doing so, prove they have an in-depth understanding of the industry in which they operate and its associated challenges.

So what are the characteristics of those B2B brands getting it right? I looked at the traits these businesses had in common and found five key areas:

1. They are true to their values and reflect those in everything they do

2. They consistently prove their capability to do the things they say they can

3. They re-calibrate their relationship with their customers and stakeholders based on their how their priorities have changed

4. They show through their content and customer service how well they understand their customers and their challenges, with an emphasis on empathy

5. They focus on how to optimise their customers’ and prospective customers’ experience with them by repeatedly adding value and maintaining visibility even when they haven’t sold to those audiences yet

From a messaging point of view, it’s important that businesses consider how essential they are for their customers and ensure they are offering guidance, clarity, and tangible value – they must show they are partnering their customers and prospective customers through these uncertain times.

If businesses can deliver on all of these, they will benefit from long-term brand awareness, digital marketing campaigns and sales conversions working much more effectively together.