The final layer is the strategic layer, a growth enabler that gives companies a competitive advantage, helping businesses keep user consent at the core while making the most out of the available data. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) across the decision value chain to enable companies to deliver great customer experiences consistently.

Increasing awareness of digital trust with consumers

Given the ambiguity of digital trust and the fact that business leaders are only now beginning to address the significance of digital trust, consumers were largely unaware of the topic and its significance. As consumers are becoming increasingly aware of digital trust in digital business, they are using this knowledge to make informed decisions based on a company’s ability to demonstrate a trustworthy ecosystem.

Digital trust is making its way into B2B and B2G sectors

Although digital trust had its start in B2C companies, it’s becoming a growing trend beyond this sector and making its way into enterprises. Largely due to the expansion of its scope, digital trust is becoming increasingly applicable to both the B2B and B2G (business to government) sectors.

Lack of trust is beginning to have a measurable impact

As mentioned above, consumers are becoming increasingly informed of digital trust, and they are using this knowledge to determine the trustworthiness of an organization’s digital ecosystem. This knowledge is beginning to have a quantifiable impact on the subscribers and revenues of digital businesses. In addition, we are increasingly witnessing how a continued demonstration of trust is subconsciously influencing consumer decisions.

Prioritizing digital trust to build customer confidence

Trust has always been a key enabler of success, although its role is much more prominent in today’s digital era where data is a valuable asset. However, data breaches continue to occur with increasing frequency, negatively affecting the level of customer trust. This cause and effect will move the needle of digital trust, shifting it from a “nice to have” to a necessity. This means that if your business wants to stay in the game, or even just pursue opportunities, you will need to have trust initiatives in place, and someone to drive them—preferably a CTrO.

For companies to attract customers and create customer loyalty, they will need to build customer confidence by prioritizing digital trust. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of brands losing all credibility, as well as their reputations, because of a single breach of trust, and in most cases, it was extremely hard to regain the trust of their customers. In fact, a recent study by Edelman revealed that 45 percent of consumers said that a brand would never be able to regain their trust after it displayed unethical behaviour or suffered a controversy. In addition, 40 percent revealed that they would stop buying from that brand altogether.

As more businesses begin to understand the importance of digital trust, there will be increasing emphasis on trust as a key factor in doing business. However, gaining the highest levels of digital trust will require instilling a culture of trust in their ecosystems, as well as a key stakeholder (CTrO) who will be responsible for infusing trust into the ecosystem. Confirming this trend, a recent IDC survey showed that by 2025, two-thirds of the G2000 boards will ask for a formal trust initiative to execute a roadmap to increase an enterprise’s security, privacy protections, and ethical execution. Organizations that embrace digital trust initiatives will increasingly become the vendors of choice, while organizations that do not put a priority on digital trust will find themselves at a clear competitive disadvantage.