In business-to-business (B2B) marketing, the ultimate goal is almost always increased leads and opportunities to sell what you deliver.

The temptation is to target leads alone by using marketing to really ‘sell’ what you do – or to collect potential customer information which can be passed to your sales team.

However, seeking to generate leads before developing trust, can lead to disappointment.

Few people will buy from a brand they don’t trust. This is particularly true in B2B marketing where the stakes can be high, the sales cycle is long and decisions are made by committee, not individuals.

So, as leading experts in better B2B marketing, here’s why we agree that developing trust is the best route to creating leads…

1) B2B buyers are naturally risk adverse

Unlike consumers, who largely make purchasing decisions by themselves, B2B buyers are typically accountable to their colleagues, budgets and boss!

As well as being financially damaging, a poor choice of supplier can impact their credibility, delay projects or worse.

As such, B2B buyers typically look for signals of reliability and credibility before they fill out a lead-generating form, pick up the phone or fire off an email.

They don’t just compare features but assess risk – and developing trust first will ultimately create more leads.

2) Long sales cycles require consistent credibility

Most business-to-business sales and purchases take time to complete. They are rarely instant and can often take weeks – or even months – with various interactions and stakeholders involved in the decision process.

During that time, prospective customers may read your company blog, scan your LinkedIn posts or check out your case studies. They are looking for trust signals to validate their decision and maintain the relationship.

Overtly salesy messages can appear superficial and even spammy, subconsciously or consciously putting people off. Without trust, leads rarely turn into sales.

However, brands that show up consistently, deliver helpful insights and stay relevant to the customer, can build a relationship before a sale is even involved.

That relationship is built on trust!

3) Trust creates higher quality leads

One of the biggest criticisms of most lead-generation tactics is the poor quality of the subsequent leads.

Many tactics encourage people to complete a form or enquire, regardless of the strength of their intentions and where they are in the buying process.

When the focus is instead put on building trust, lead quality typically improves.

Leads created by trust-driven channels – like professional referrals, thought-leadership articles or organic search results (SEO) – are typically more informed, more qualified and more likely to convert.

Building trust first means you attract buyers who are ready to talk and do business.

4. Business-to-business is still human-to-human

It’s often easy to forget that behind every business or organisation there are individual people trying to make good decisions.

‘People buy from people’ is a well-worn cliché, but one which is as true as ever. Furthermore, people only buy from people they trust.

Human-to-human trust is typically earned by communication which is:

• Consistent
• Transparent
• Value-driven (e.g. morals)
• Respects the audience’s intelligence

Lead generation techniques can struggle to achieve this by using superlatives and hyperbole to encourage people to act before they are ready.

To generate trust, B2B marketing shouldn’t be boring – but it has to be believable.

5) Referrals begin with trust

Most businesses will agree that the strongest type of lead is a referral or word-of-mouth recommendation. Typically, someone who their potential customers trusts and respects has suggested their company, product or service.

Many B2B businesses have grown on reputation and word-of-mouth alone.

Again, referrals, recommendations and organic conversations, typically only occur when people trust in your company and brand.

By using B2B marketing to communicate and reinforce these trust signals – before pushing for a lead or sale – more people may refer others to you.

So, how do you build trust first?

These five reasons (and there are many more!) demonstrate the value in building trusting with your prospective customers, rather than skipping straight to generating leads.

In most circumstances the two run concurrently, but – where most lead generation services or tactics underdeliver – building genuine trust in your brand is the hallmark of many industry-leading companies.

So, how can you apply this to your B2B marketing? Here’s a few key tactics:

• Educate, don’t pitch – Content marketing is a huge part of modern marketing, especially in creating trust. Create content (e.g. articles, blogs social media posts, whitepapers) which help your customers solve real problems.
• Be consistent – Create a recognisable persona and voice in all your marketing and communications. Make sure it reinforces the values you want to project.
• Show your human side – Let your potential customers hear from your team, not just your corporate persona. Showcase the character and skills your colleagues possess.
• Use social proof – Real-life case studies, testimonials and third-party reviews help to show potential customers what you are genuinely like and that others trust you. Trust is contagious!
• Be transparent – No business is perfect; no product or service is always better than the competition. Be proud of your positives but don’t over promise. Be an open book, share your processes and own your mistakes!

Create trust by having a brand persona that educates, empathises and elevates your audience – before ever asking them to enquire or buy.

Leads will come, but only if trust comes first!

Support to increase trust and leads

At Full Mix Marketing, we’re a full service B2B marketing agency, specialising in delivering the full mix of strategic, digital and creative marketing for companies and organisations who provide products or services business-to-business (B2B).

We deliver marketing which helps our clients – in sectors including manufacturing, engineering, technology, logistics, construction and business services – to create leads by building trust.

If you’d welcome support to improve trust in your organisation or brand, we’d like to help. More information can be found here