There is a big reason why trust and credibility in the B2B sector are two of the most important things for a B2B to establish. Think about it from the perspective of your buyer. They are under enormous pressure to make the right decision and minimize risk. There are huge financial implications resting in their hands and the wrong decision can put their career and the company’s fate in danger.
This doesn’t mean that decisions are made by a single person in silo. The B2B buying process usually comprises numerous individuals, often with different priorities.
However, research from Forrester shows that this high-stakes purchasing process leads B2B buyers to often become defensive decision-makers. That is, they tend to select what they perceive to be the safest choice rather than the one with the greatest potential upside.
This has significant implications for anyone selling in the B2B space because now your top priority is to ensure that the buyer feels safe and secure in selecting your solution. This requires building trust and credibility.
Let’s dig in a little deeper into the impacts of being viewed as a trusted partner. We will also uncover some potential ways to dramatically increase your perceived credibility in the eyes of your prospects.
Trust Bridges the Gap Between Risk-Averse Buyers and Vendors
Trust is hard to encapsulate and harder to measure because you just can’t put a KPI on a belief.
However, B2B buyers are heavily driven by the perception of trust and at the same time the need to mitigate risk. In fact, according to the same report from Forrester, B2B buyers are 2X more willing to pay more to work with a company they deem as credible and trustworthy.
Yet, B2B organizations often fail to see how much trust, or a lack thereof, is impacting the bottom line. It may be easier to see the effects of trust from the tangible impacts of a credibility deficit. One of those can be a prolonged sale cycle that ends without a deal.
In this all-to-common scenario, the vendor faces a decision-maker who is uncertain and lacks trust. This leads to the decision-maker dragging their feet, conducting more research into alternative solutions, or seeking more assurances – which may include asking for deep discounts to offset the perceived risk.
Ultimately, the potential customer, wary about investing in unproven businesses, will typically opt for a competitor who has more perceived credibility. The problem with this scenario is that you may not ever realize why you were bypassed, only that you were not selected.
Cultivating Credibility in The B2B Sector Requires the Help of a Friend… And PR
By instilling three essential ingredients – trust, reliability, and reputation – in the mind of a B2B buyer you are easing the decision-making process and giving the buyer the peace of mind needed to close the deal.
To do that, you CANNOT simply ask for trust. It must be earned. This is where PR comes in to help. When an industry trade publication features you in an article about what is working or what is trending, there is a subconscious transfer of trust into the minds of your prospects. When the trade media – viewed as a credible source of information – mentions you positively, the prospect’s perception of you changes.
Now, take that and multiply it exponentially by creating a robust earned media campaign. This way your articles show up consistently every month in several well-respected publications. This is a proven formula for moving the needle on your “sales odometer” toward the red.
Trust and Credibility: Case in Point
As an example, let’s look at one of our clients, ELSCO Transformers. The company specializes in providing high-quality new, repaired, and rebuilt medium-sized transformers. In their mind, one of ELSCO’s biggest challenges was a lack of awareness. They simply were not known by enough potential customers.
However, what they also lacked was credibility. This meant that almost any marketing initiative they undertook would fall short of its potential. That is because without building perceived trust in the minds of their prospects, they were often seen as an unknown risk that was too great to take on.
We began with a dynamic earned media push. Within this, we wrote feature articles that included ELSCO’s customers as the focal point of each story. What problems were they facing? What had they tried in the past that failed or fell short of expectations? Why did they eventually choose ELSCO Transformers?
It did not take long to see how this PR push would deliver an ROI. After an article published in a major trade publication, ELSCO received a call from the West Coast. This was a part of the country where they had never shipped a single transformer.
The utility mentioned they had read the magazine story and were facing a similar issue. As a result, they purchased two six-figure transformers that week. This more than covered the cost of the PR. A year later, they returned and ordered two more.
ELSCO Transformers has since seen sales increase by 300% and is still working with Rankin PR today.
PR Goes Beyond Building Trust and Credibility
While building trust and credibility should be your top focus, this type of earned media campaign impacts your entire sales funnel. This includes top-funnel awareness, mid-funnel education, and then of course the all-too-critical bottom-funnel credibility.
- Top-of-Funnel Awareness: Effective PR propels B2B businesses into the spotlight, ensuring consistent media mentions and exposure. Being featured in reputable industry publications or securing interviews as a thought leader enhances brand visibility and draws more people into your sales funnel.
- Middle-of-Funnel Education: Earned media articles provide expert insights that help educate potential clients throughout the buying cycle. This is especially important today where 60-90% of the buying cycle happens before a potential prospect ever reaches out to a vendor. By sharing informative, educational, and even industry-disruptive content you not only increase credibility, but you help propel people to the closing stage.
- Bottom-of-Funnel Credibility: Positive press coverage, customer testimonials, and case studies serve as the tipping point. This is where prospects go from being uncertain to fully trusting in your capabilities. Success stories validate your solutions and reassure the defensive buyer that you are a trusted and credible partner.
Plus, with the PR content that Rankin PR provides, you retain the copyright and are free to repurpose that material on all your owned channels to help feed your marketing ecosystem.
Rankin PR has generated over 10,000 earned media articles and can help you increase your trust and credibility.
If you are looking to grow your B2B, let’s talk.
