People buy from people they trust. But when does that trust actually get built? — R.R Marketing Blog

You've heard it. I've said it. It's probably appeared in more LinkedIn posts than any other phrase in B2B marketing.

"People buy from people."

And it's true, as far as it goes. But I think the version that actually matters incorporates something even more valuable — trust.

People buy from people they trust.

Which raises the question: when does that trust get built?

Most businesses aren't untrustworthy. They deliver on what they promise, look after their clients and do good work. The problem isn't trustworthiness; it's taking the time to build that trust.

The mistake is that marketing often shows up when someone is already deciding who to choose. A pitch. A proposal. A follow-up call after someone has filled in a contact form. All of it aimed at the moment of decision.

By the time a B2B buyer is formally comparing options, trust has often already been won or lost, or worse, you haven't even been considered. This doesn't just happen in the sales conversation, but in the months, and sometimes years, before it. Through articles they've read, people they've heard from and names that keep coming up in conversations.

If you're not contributing your story before they're ready to buy, you're starting from zero at the moment it matters most.

I use a framework called G.R.O.W, which maps the B2B buyer journey across four stages:

• G — Growing Curious: the buyer is learning, keeping up with their industry, maybe not even aware they have a problem yet
• R — Recognising Needs: they've identified a gap and are starting to think about what a solution might look like
• O — Options Evaluation: they're comparing suppliers and building a shortlist
• W — Working in Partnership: they've chosen someone and the relationship begins

Most marketing tends to show up at O. The pitch, the ad, the campaign — aimed at someone who is already comparing options or about to make a decision.

But the trust that earns you a place on that shortlist is often built at G and R. Before anyone is Googling suppliers. Before anyone is ready to talk. At the point where they're just paying attention — reading things, attending events and listening to people they respect.

Here's the interesting thing about stage G: the buyer often doesn't know they're in it.

They're not necessarily doing research. They're having a conversation at an industry event about how a colleague solved a similar problem. They're half-listening to someone mention a business name they've heard before. They're subconsciously forming impressions and building a picture of who the credible players are, without consciously realising they're doing any of it.

By the time they're ready to formally look, a lot of that groundwork has already been done. Your job is to be part of it.

All of that early-stage activity only builds trust if it's consistent, and it can only be consistent if you know what you're actually trying to say.

I've seen businesses start newsletters, show up at events, post regularly on LinkedIn and still not build the kind of trust that translates into being on the shortlist. Not because the tactics were wrong, but because there was no clear foundation underneath them. No real answer to who they're talking to, what they stand for or what they want to be known for.

Without that clarity, even well-intentioned activity pulls in different directions. The newsletter has one tone, the LinkedIn posts another and the website something else entirely. It feels busy, but a buyer encountering you across those different touchpoints gets an unfocused impression rather than a clear one.

That's where strategy becomes important. Not as a document that sits in a drawer, but as the thing that makes every piece of activity point in the same direction. When someone reads your newsletter, attends your webinar and then bumps into you at an event, they should get a consistent, recognisable sense of what you are and why it matters to them.

We talk a lot about how to build trust. But sometimes it's worth looking at the other side: the things we do that can damage trust before we've even spoken to a potential customer.

Inconsistent messaging across channels. If your LinkedIn posts say one thing, your website says something slightly different, and the person who answers the phone has a different pitch again, the subconscious impression is that you don't really know what you are. Inconsistency reads as uncertainty — and uncertainty doesn't build trust.

Making claims you can't easily back up. We all want to tell potential customers that we're different, better or more experienced. But big claims without evidence can have the opposite effect. If your website says you're an industry leader, what demonstrates it? If you promise exceptional service, where's the proof? Case studies, customer stories, experience and evidence do far more to build confidence than another superlative.

Only showing up when you want something. If every communication is a pitch, a follow-up or a request, people notice. The businesses that build the deepest trust are the ones that show up with something useful when they're not asking for anything. An article that answers a question the client is probably asking. A connection to someone who might help. A piece of insight shared because it's relevant, not because there's an agenda attached to it.

If trust is being built at G and R — before anyone is ready to buy — then the activity that matters isn't just the pitch. It's the consistent, early-stage presence that means your name is already in the picture when the time comes.

In practice, that might mean:

• A newsletter or blog that answers real questions your buyers are already asking — not promotional, just genuinely useful
• Showing up at smaller, well-chosen industry events regularly enough that people start to recognise you and, more importantly, remember what you stand for
• A LinkedIn presence that shares a consistent point of view over time, so when someone looks you up, they already have a sense of who you are
• Case studies that tell an honest story about a problem you've solved, so a prospective buyer can see themselves in it before they've ever spoken to you

None of this requires a large budget. It requires clarity about what you stand for, consistency in how you show up and the patience to play a longer game than many businesses are willing to play.

"People buy from people they trust" isn't wrong. It's just incomplete.

Perhaps the fuller version is: people buy from people they already trusted before the conversation started.

Yes, I know — a bit of a mouthful. But the extra words matter. If trust is being formed long before someone is ready to talk, then that's where much of the marketing work needs to happen too.

The question isn't simply how to be more trustworthy in a sales meeting. It's how to become a business someone already has a positive impression of before they need you.

That's a different brief, and it leads to very different marketing decisions.

I'm currently exploring this further through two short surveys — one asking marketers what they believe builds trust, and another asking business buyers what actually affects their trust when choosing suppliers.

I'm particularly interested to see where the two agree and where they don't.

If you're a marketer: Marketing Trust Survey

If you're involved in choosing suppliers: Business Trust Survey