What we can learn from milkmen about trust

T his morning I got a warm feeling reading a newsletter from my milk delivery company.

It featured various milkmen who had gone over and above leaving bottles on people’s doorsteps, doing various helpful things within the community while on their rounds.

Reading their stories made me feel good about buying milk from this company and using its service – it gave me a sense of trust in the organisation. It also led me to ponder how this type of content could work in the B2B world.

Communicating B2B trust

Trust for any business is about much more than creating that warm feeling. Nearly 94% of marketers surveyed for a 2025 LinkedIn and Ipsos study agreed that it is the most important aspect in achieving success as a B2B brand, above product and price.

Trust can be hard to quantify and subject to external factors that might destroy it (cyber attacks, data breaches, supply chain issues to name but three). Getting the tone right in content and communications to build stakeholder trust is not straightforward: it can be misunderstood and end up achieving the opposite.

But it is important to work on getting it right. The afore-mentioned study found that connection, relevance and validation are critical factors in achieving trust.

Getting the tone right in content and communications to build stakeholder trust is not straightforward: it can be misunderstood and end up achieving the opposite.

Rachel Murray Account Director, Fourth Day

Connection

One of the reasons that the milkmen stories instilled me with trust is that they provided a human element to the company. I never see my milkman as he delivers way before my alarm goes off, so discovering that he could be out there, picking pensioners up off the pavement or putting keys forgotten in doors into a safe place, made me think about him differently.

Personalities can really help establish trust in a B2B organisation too. Leaders that speak confidently and knowledgeably with passion and expertise can give a positive face to the business that audiences can relate to.

Relevance

Of course, for content to resonate, it must be relevant to the audience. It must also be delivered in the right way. According to a 2025 Edelman and LinkedIn report, 73% of B2B decision makers trust thought leadership content over marketing materials.

At Fourth Day, for example, we work with our B2B clients to develop articles for publications that share best practice advice or insights into sector trends. We also coach business leaders to deliver expert comment and presentations in the media and at industry events.

The key is to ensure that the audience is gaining useful information or learning something new. This content does not have to focus on the business’s core function. It could be about how it has created a working environment that employees thrive in; or introduced policies or industry standards that produce high performing teams.  

Talking about these aspects of a business serves as a means of communicating what the company stands for. In the case of my milk supplier, by highlighting and commending its employees’ actions, the business showed that it values its staff and cares about the communities it works with.

Validation

Potential and existing customers need to see that it’s not just you who thinks you’re great. This is an issue that clearly needs addressing: PWC’s 2024 Trust in Business Survey found that, while 90% of business executives think customers highly trust their companies, only 30% of consumers actually do.

Nothing goes further in building trust than third party endorsement, so it is well worth the effort of gathering evidence of work you have done, what it has achieved and how it has impacted customers, employees, or your bottom line. This is made all the more compelling when customers tell that story for you. Award entries and case studies are a good way of sharing these successes and building trust.

With 93% of business executives agreeing that the ability to build and maintain trust improves the bottom line (PWC), there has been a huge growth in the appointment of Chief Trust Officers – or CTrOs. Many of these focus on security and data, but there are many aspects to building trust. Communication and content are where businesses have the opportunity to control the narrative and demonstrate what they are made of. 

B2B is not the same as a milkround but the impact of building trust is the same. It is vital for attracting customers, building loyalty and ensuring other stakeholders want to work with you – be they partners, investors or employees.