Synthesize growth with our digital trust index

Attitudinal data delivers insights to help strengthen customer trust

Energy and chemical suppliers operate in an increasingly commoditized B2B landscape. With the pace of product and service innovation slowing, it can be difficult for companies to differentiate themselves as they once did. On top of that, geopolitical shifts, volatile raw material costs, new market players, and uncertain demand have eroded pricing power for most players, making it tough to break free from the commodity trap. Amid this challenging market environment, energy and chemical organizations are seeking new value levers to help them stand apart from competitors. Yet there’s one lever that is often overlooked—and that’s trust.

We know that trust is an essential element in the formula for every relationship, from family and friends to customers and co-workers. Yet in energy and chemicals, a sector long driven by concrete metrics and technical assurance, talk about trust can strike some as obscure or disconnected from business outcomes.

That’s why we decided to expand our growing body of research on trust by putting TrustID to the test in the energy and chemical sector. During the last year, we conducted a brand index survey of more than 1,300 B2B energy and chemical customers to understand how much they trust suppliers—and what exactly drives or undermines their trust. Our findings debunk the notion that trust is immaterial to this domain, showing that trust can be a competitive differentiator for players in the industry.

In this report, we look at how the most trustworthy suppliers in energy and chemicals are earning the trust of customers and their own workforces, how that trust impacts behaviors—and most important, what you can do to build trust. We also explore the implications that trust can have on an organization’s own leaders, workforce, and key stakeholders, particularly during periods of organizational transformation or disruption.

Measure the softer side of trust with our HX Trust ID

Throw a dart in the energy and chemicals sector, and you’ll hit a company that’s been in business since the late 1800s or early 1900s. This institutional longevity tells you something. Energy and chemical suppliers simply wouldn’t stay in business long if they weren’t extremely good at what they do. After all, their products have to meet exacting customer specifications, performance requirements, and pricing stipulations and be produced, transported, and delivered safely and reliably.

In the language of HX TrustID, these hard-earned qualities are what we define as competence, and we characterize this particular piece of trust through two factors: capability and reliability. Capability boils down to delivering high-quality products, services, and experiences. Reliability is predicated on consistently delivering on promises and expectations. Our research shows that energy and chemical companies have the formula down for capability and reliability. Customers gave suppliers high scores across the board for these two factors.

But it’s also a conundrum if you’re trying to differentiate your company from the rest of the sector. There’s very little room to muscle past the competition on capability and reliability alone. In short, competence—while fundamental—is a shared strength among companies in the sector. It has become table stakes rather than a differentiator.

Fortunately, competence isn’t the only way to fill a reservoir of trust. Our research found that what sets apart the most-trusted suppliers from competitors isn’t competence; it’s what could be considered the softer side of trust, or intent. HX TrustID characterizes intent through the two factors of humanity and transparency.

Humanity equates to demonstrating empathy and fairness, while transparency is based on being clear and upfront with relevant information. This seemingly softer side of trust, in fact, garners measurable, hard-and-fast business results. We discovered that suppliers that earned the strongest overall trust scores did so through higher intent scores. Customers rated their most-trusted suppliers 2x higher in humanity and transparency, while they rated these suppliers only slightly higher (1.2x) in capability and reliability. In other words, the qualities that make customers trust certain organizations more than others are the qualities that the sector is generally not known for.

Going forward, competence will remain the bedrock for trust in the sector, but it’s clear that suppliers that want to break free of commoditization need to lean into actions and messaging that demonstrate stronger humanity and transparency.

The four factors of trust

Through qualitative and quantitative research, Deloitte Digital has built an understanding of the science behind trust—and the benefits that come from it. We’ve developed TrustID, an open-source, data-driven tool that helps companies not only measure the four critical factors that drive trust—humanity, transparency, capability, and reliability—but also accurately predict how human emotions will impact behaviors.

To read more about TrustID, visit: HX TrustIDTM | Deloitte.

Drive trust with digitally enabled experiences

Our research revealed that digital can play a pivotal role in enabling trust for energy and chemical suppliers. Customers are accustomed to the ease, flexibility, and transparency of digital interactions in their personal lives, and these personal preferences have permeated the workplace, reshaping their expectations. Among energy and chemical customers, trust scores were the highest for those who used digital channels (including those that enable self-service as their primary purchasing or interaction channels), with scores for those using sales representatives trailing. Transparency and capability were the factors that elevated digital to most-trusted channel status.

Conversely, there were notable trust deficiencies among customers who primarily use customer service representatives (CSRs) for purchases and interactions. Trust scores for this channel were at least 33% lower than other channels, with the biggest gaps in humanity and transparency factors. This could reflect that customers turn to service representatives only when other channels have already fallen short and/or that CSRs are not equipped with the right information or tools to satisfactorily address customers’ needs.

Either way, it points to a need to consider digital augmentation that will make service interactions feel more empathetic, responsive, and transparent. Despite the trust-building potential of digital as a means for self-service, current capabilities among suppliers in the sector are nascent. Fewer than 10% of respondents cited digital as their primary purchase channel, compared to nearly 70% of respondents who primarily rely on sales representatives. These findings suggest an opportunity for energy and chemical suppliers to use digital more expansively both for self-service and to augment customers’ experiences on other channels.

Nurture trust by aligning actions to customer and workforce needs

In the increasingly commoditized landscape of energy and chemicals, sheer competence no longer sets you apart. Top-notch products at competitive prices will, of course, always remain essential, but in customers’ minds, that’s just the beginning. To outshine the competition and fortify your business, you must now earn customers’ trust by demonstrating other dimensions of trust—chiefly, humanity and transparency.

To achieve this, empower your customers with digital self-service capabilities, providing them with the flexibility, real-time visibility, and fluid interactions they now expect. Understanding the diverse needs of various functional areas and corporate levels within your customers’ organizations will also be crucial in building more trusting, empathetic relationships. Additionally, becoming a reliable ally in their pursuit of climate and decarbonization goals while being transparent about your own sustainability commitments will further reinforce trust, especially in future years.

Strengthening trust also means looking within your organization, especially during periods of digital transformation or market upheaval. Building and nurturing trust among your employees not only helps your company weather these challenges but also paves the way for earning the trust of your customers.

Ultimately, trust is about aligning your actions closely with your customers’ needs and preferences. By doing so you enhance the level of trust they place in your company. And as that trust grows, you can break free of the commodity trap, fostering enduring relationships, commanding premium prices, and thriving amid ever-changing market conditions.

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