Hemingway famously wrote that the best way to determine if someone is Trusted it's just trusting them. In most businesses, especially technology, trust has historically been protected by two main factors: SAFETY AND compliance. I believe this approach (much like Hemingway's advice) is not only outdated, but also costs companies millions every year.

Like one the head of the faithI've worked with dozens of companies in retail, software and even biotech, helping to turn them around CREDIBILITY into a product they can take to market. This approach has led to faster and higher sales customer satisfaction, but it requires an entirely new way of thinking — and operating. And the reality is that most businesses are thinking about trust the wrong way: it's not about ticking off an IT or compliance checklist – it's about enabling, protecting and creating real business value.

At a time when technological, sociological, and even geopolitical forces are pushing us to reevaluate authenticity and how to nurture trust in a world full of deep misinformation and falsifications – I have thought a lot about this challenge.

Simply put, if it takes faith in your company or product to make one SALE, you can and should turn it into a purposeful product based on evidence of how you run your business. Here's how to transform trust into a more meaningful product launch ROI (and why it's never been more important):

Faith is taking a beating

Cyber ​​attacks, data breaches and online fraud have increased exponentially in recent years, but it's not just cyber security that's causing trust issues. Edelman's 2024 Confidence Barometer found that more than two-thirds of respondents believe that business leaders are deliberately trying to mislead people.

Companies like Meta and Boeing have become famous made headlines ABOUT destructive customer trust issues in the last years. In the software sector, I have seen firsthand how the effects of declining trust can negatively impact companies, either through costly audits and compliance checks or by giving up on their long-term value.

Whatever your business, thinking about trust as a product can be an invaluable way to improve sales, increase revenue and support key business metrics. And trust really does matter in the grand scheme of things the success of your company: have been shown to trusted companies outperform their peers by 400%.

Building a new belief framework

For most companies, reliability will be the most scrutinized during the sales process. But I believe businesses need to start thinking and talking about trust before they get to this stage. The reality is that trust should be an essential part of how you run your business and customers care about this more than you think.

The best place to start is by understanding exactly what your customer needs – and then finding ways to ensure those needs are served by your organizational practices and operations. Here is the belief framework I use:

1. Produce your process

Customers care about how your product is made – and they want to hear how you solve problems as much as you want to help them succeed (this is especially true for software, where potential buyers want proof of your processes safe and reliable, predictable behavior to give the green light to a purchase).

So how do you do this? Compile your own evidence CREDIBILITY in relevant trust stories that tell your customers why they can and should trust HOW you do what you do — whether it's an insight into your data retention practices, your supply chain, or your approach to company governance. By staying ahead of the curve and proactively removing the possibility of trust friction, you can accelerate sales and value generation.

2. Create a store of trust

While security and compliance traditionally belong to IT, a trust practice needs to be much more holistic – not to mention supported and endorsed by a broad cross-section of company leaders. Every segment of your business—from operations to marketers to the C-suite—should speak to your trust practices and tell your trust stories.

And, of course, adding a chief trust officer to your team will inevitably accelerate investment in trust as a core value driver (not to mention show others the importance you place on trust as an organization as a whole ).

3. Map to C-suite metrics

As with any practice, you need to know if your faith practice is working. So how do you measure it? Use the same metrics your CFO does, such as impact or impact on customer acquisition costs, churn and sales.

Be sure to align your trust practice with business value metrics that will benefit management. I have personally seen results that speak directly to executives, such as reduced time to close deals, increased revenue, and fewer (if any) disruptive audits.

Conclusion: reliable companies and products command a premium in the market.

If trust plays a critical role in your business results, then changing the way you think about it – and treating it as a product – can ultimately add tremendous value. But the best measure of success? For most businesses, it's a given that, at the end of the day, your customers want to work with you because your company is truly trustworthy. And that proof is in your faith product.