Trust is one of the primary factors determining a brand’s success. Brands that aren’t trusted will find it hard for consumers to buy into their brand imaging and marketing.
In this day and age, building trust among an ever-skeptical consumer base can be a constant challenge. In fact, consumers—especially younger ones—are less trusting of brands in general and, more specifically, aren’t buying into traditional marketing practices.
That’s why it is becoming increasingly important for brands to make trust a top priority in everything they do—whether it be consumer messaging, user-experience, or brand imaging. Brands that are the most trusted by customers consistently demonstrate authenticity, credibility, and honesty.
With all that being said, here are the most trusted brands and how they earn consumers’ trust, according to the Prophet Brand Relevance Index study
Tried and true brands
The most represented brands when it comes to trust, 13 of the top 25 to be exact, are brands that have earned a reputation for reliability over decades. Band-Aid, Tide, and Crest earned top 5 honors while Cheerios, Clorox, and Kleenex were among the top 10. The other old guard brands that made it into the top 25 most trusted brands were Dove, Johnson & Johnson, Hershey’s, Windex, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, and Ziploc.
While reliability is a major factor making these brands some of the most trusted, perhaps the more important reason they rank so high can be traced to the fact that they are and have been important in our daily lives for years and years. More specifically, they are intangibly attached and associated with the American household.
Elite brands
Unsurprisingly, the second group of highly trusted brands, 8 of the top 25—are the ones who excel in nearly every category. These elite brands are not only some of the most trusted, but they also ranked the highest in the Prophet Brand Relevance Index’s overall rankings. None of the heritage brands mentioned above made the top 25 most relevant brands even though they are highly trusted.
The eight elite brands that made the top 25 most trusted brands include Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Pandora, KitchenAid, Fitbit, and Bose. The reasons these brands are extremely trusted by consumers comes down to two main factors.
First, is that they play a meaningful role in the lives and lifestyles of consumers whether it be in their daily routine, as a means of entertainment, or as a way to make their life more convenient. The second reason these brands are so trusted is that they constantly perform at a high level, which lets consumers know what to expect when interacting with the brand and, in turn, builds a certain trust.
Other most trusted brands
So from all appearances, the most trusted brands tend to have a strong brand image in combination with exceptional reliability. The other four brands rounding out the top 25 most trusted brands are more specialized in nature.
Retailers like the North Face and Trader Joes made the list for offering consistent consumer experience and high-quality products. The last two most trusted brands were FedEx and UPS who have made reliability their main priority.
