How to build trust in a new brand

Picture someone walking into your business or landing on your page for the first time. They don't know you. They don't know if you're serious, if you deliver, if you're worth their money or their phone number. In that moment you're not competing only on price or product: you're competing for something invisible and decisive, trust. And a new brand starts with the scoreboard at zero.

This is no small thing. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, trust weighs as much as quality and price when deciding to buy; it's strategic to the relationship between a brand and its customers. Put another way: however good your product is, if you don't earn trust, you don't sell.

Why it's so hard at the start

The underlying problem is simple: people trust people more than they trust brands. And a newborn brand has no history, no reviews, no happy customers to vouch for it. Studies on online commerce estimate that a large majority of people won't buy from brands they don't trust. That's why your first customers are the hardest: they're giving you a leap of faith before you have any proof to show.

So the goal isn't to 'look big' but to give credibility signals: small, repeated, consistent proofs that behind the brand there are real people who deliver.

Social proof: let others speak for you

The most powerful trust signal for a new business doesn't come out of your mouth, it comes out of your customers'. The research is blunt: most consumers read reviews before buying, and they find other customers' opinions more credible than what the brand says about itself. A star rating and positive reviews are, across several studies, the trust signal that pushes people to buy the most.

Today's buyers want real proof before they decide. They trust other people's experiences more than the brand's own promises.

So from your very first customer, ask for testimonials. Ask for reviews. Show screenshots of happy conversations (with permission), real photos of your work, cases from people like your ideal customer. Don't wait until you have a hundred: start with the first one. A product with several reviews sells far more than one with none.

Credibility signals you can show today

Beyond reviews, there's a set of signals customers check, almost without realizing it, to confirm you're legitimate. People look at your social media to see if you're active, read your return policy to see if you stand behind what you sell, and look for real faces and names behind the brand.

• Real reviews and testimonials, visible and easy to find.
• A clear, generous guarantee or return policy: it says 'I trust my product so much I'll take the risk for you'.
• Active presence: posting now and then shows the business is alive and operating.
• Faces and names: showing the people behind the brand builds closeness and credibility.
• Fast, clear answers: nothing builds trust like replying well and on time when someone asks.

That last point matters more than it seems. When someone writes with a question and gets a warm, helpful answer within minutes, their perception of the brand shifts. That's why so many businesses guard the first contact so carefully; some even back up that first moment with an assistant like Lidia, which replies instantly on WhatsApp so no question goes unanswered.

Consistency: trust is earned in repetitions

The Edelman Barometer insists on an uncomfortable point: the most trusted brands back up their promise with action. It's not enough to say 'we're trustworthy'; you have to prove it in every delivery, every reply, every problem solved. Trust isn't earned in one grand gesture, it's earned in a hundred small, consistent ones.

That's both the bad news and the good news. Bad, because there's no shortcut. Good, because it means any business, however small, can build a trusted brand: it just needs to deliver what it promises, again and again, until the reputation speaks for itself.

Your takeaway today

A new brand doesn't compete with budget, it competes with credibility. Gather your first reviews, post a clear guarantee, show the real faces behind the business, and reply fast and well. Do that consistently and, before you notice, trust will stop being your biggest obstacle and become your best asset.

Sources

• Edelman Trust Barometer — https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer/special-report-brands
• Trustpilot — https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/why-and-how-social-proof-influences-consumers
• LiveChat — https://www.livechat.com/success/why-customers-dont-trust-your-business/
• Sprout Social — https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-proof/