Why customer trust is your biggest 2026 business bottleneck

“Peer recommendations are influencing more than 90% of all B2B buying decisions.” Harvard Business Review

Converting new B2B customers takes time and genuine trust. Although advertising and clever marketing tactics can memorialise a brand, they only go part of the way to generating brand advocates. 

Decision-makers only commit when they believe your solution will truly solve their problems. Credibility, often secured through referrals and endorsements from trusted sources, is what ultimately drives high-value conversions and long-term partnerships.

At a glance: the benefits of trust in B2B

• Advocacy. Loyal customers and employees are a business's biggest asset. As brand ambassadors, they provide referrals and recommendations that are highly influential.
• Greater ROI. Buyers are willing to pay more to partner with brands they trust as they are deemed a lower risk.
• Reputation insurance. Businesses with high levels of trust have a foundation of established credibility during sentiment shifts, which can limit reputational damage.

"It's just easy to work with The Marketing Pod. They just get it. They get us. They get our business and sector." Once For All (Construction sector)

Are marketing tactics enough?

A well-thought-out tactical marketing plan, which can include core activities such as social media content, Google ads and blog posts, is undoubtedly important for putting your brand in front of decision makers at the right time. 

However, your plan could be even stronger with a strategic focus that delivers credibility, trust and authority, particularly if required to navigate high-value, complex and regulated procurement processes.

As Ellie Smith, our Marketing Strategy Consultant puts it: “Clients often come to us under pressure to demonstrate ROI while balancing other important marketing measures like reputation, credibility and stakeholder trust. Our role is to help put the strategic foundations in place, so their tactics are better positioned to succeed and deliver long-term value.”

That’s where strategy comes in. At The Marketing Pod, we specialise in providing the strategic layer for businesses in regulated industries to navigate longer conversions using trust and authority to close the gap between lead and client.

3 signs your business is suffering from a trust gap

• Stakeholder friction

In regulated sectors, such as energy and utilities, trade bodies, industry regulators, and the public are just as important as clients and customers. If stakeholder surveys and consultations are feeding back friction rather than support, there is a breakdown in trust. When communications or actions fail to meet stakeholder expectations, it can cause a bottleneck for future business or project approvals. Establishing authority here is about validating your commitment to the industry rather than self-promotion.   

Take a look at our Better Together event with npower Business Solutions, which won Gold at the CIPR PRide Awards.

• Risk aversion

If you’re often invited to tender but lose out to larger competitors, despite offering competitive or even superior services, you could be hitting a risk glass ceiling. For example, procurement processes within construction are extremely risk-averse, with accountability at the top of the priority list. This can lead to potential clients choosing the most well-known firm that brings added reputation protection.

If your brand lacks third-party endorsement from industry influencers and trade media, you're at higher risk. Closing this gap requires more than product claims and benefits to gain authority.

• Price vs value

When you feel forced to drop your price to get the client over the line, you’ve already fallen into a commodity trap. When established trust is absent, prospective customers can walk away, leaving the sales team desperate to close an often long-awaited deal. 

Brands that have cultivated a strong reputation for specialised expertise are more likely to be considered strategic partners with a higher value. By demonstrating a proven track record through deep-dive case studies and expert white papers, you have the leverage to charge for your unique expertise.

B2B buyers “would pay a premium to continue working with trusted companies.” Forrester

Moving from "noise" to "authority" with strategic PR

If the above challenges sound all too familiar, the solution likely lies in something you’ve either overlooked or narrowly defined. Public relations (PR) is more than a tool to manage a crisis or issue a press release. It is the strategic pillar for a business’s reputation management across all stakeholders.

In B2B sectors, PR is not about “going viral”, it’s about achieving and maintaining validation as an industry leader. This could be through a number of ways, from thought leadership articles within prominent trade publications and roundtable discussions with influential peers to showcasing your team's expertise with LinkedIn articles and industry events. 

We often build a fully integrated approach for our clients, particularly where communicating ESG and social value effectively is a key concern. Some of the tools and approaches we take to build trust and authority for our clients within energy, utilities, construction and tech industries are:

• Thought leadership. Positioning expert voices within your organisation as the go-to for media contacts for industry perspectives on key topics and changing legislation.
• Stakeholder roundtables. Orchestrating industry discussions centred around topical issues affecting businesses, from the hydrogen debate to skill shortages.
• Impactful distribution. Making sure expert knowledge, original data and insight reports are cited by target media and industry bodies.
• Policy engagement and advocacy. Helping clients work with the right policymakers across government, regulators and industry bodies, shaping policy as it develops, and responding clearly to new legislation and standards.

There is still a need for ‘traditional’ PR, but when combined with strategic and digital approaches, it feeds directly into your overall business and communication goals.

Solving the bottleneck

In B2B, trust is the most valuable asset when it comes to cost-per-acquisition. When your brand has established third-party trust, your sales and business development teams can spend less time proving their credentials and more time closing. 

Data shows B2B buyers are 57% - 70% through their buying research before contacting sales. If your business is not present in that research phase backed up with endorsements from credible sources, you’re likely already out of the race. Strategic PR builds that portfolio of credibility and authority for you, allowing you to enter the conversation as a recognised industry expert.

Before upping your ad spend, we can perform a reputation audit to analyse your market share, sentiment and authority and suggest ways to close any trust gaps with stakeholders.

Volume does not mean value

Investing in marketing is a smart business move, but integrating strategic PR will protect and maintain positive relationships and reputation, keeping you ahead of the competition. 

Is customer trust a bottleneck for your business? Contact The Marketing Pod for a reputation audit, and let’s discuss how an integrated strategic PR and marketing strategy can turn your expertise into your greatest competitive advantage.