Trust Matters Above All Else

Trust relationships are vital to the way we do business today. In fact, the level of trust in business relationships, whether internal with employees or colleagues or external with clients and partners, is the greatest determinant of success.

When we think of trust and what it means, we quickly realize it encompasses many things. We use the word trust to interpret what people say, describe behaviors, decide if we feel comfortable, or indicate whether we feel other people have our interests at heart.

As opaque data privacy policies proliferate, security breaches regularly make headlines, and regulations like the European Union’s GDPR take root, trust is a hot topic for technologists across the globe.

This is all the more important when considering that 54% of customers don’t believe companies have their best interests in mind. Trust isn’t just an imperative for business leaders, but a potential competitive differentiator. This sentiment rings true with small medium business leaders, who overwhelmingly view trust as the most critical element in their relationships with customers, employees, and vendors alike.

While companies are often described as credible and reliable, it’s really the people within the companies that make those companies what they are.

Source: Small and Medium Business Trends Report at Salesforce & The Trust Equation at TrustedAdvisor.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.