It must be an age-related thing, but these days I seem to spend much of my downtime talking to neighbours and colleagues about the same topic - home improvements! And I'm not talking about a bit of painting and decorating here, rather it's more likely to involve major investment in a new bathroom or kitchen. These are jobs that involve significant time and upheaval. More often than not It will involve giving someone direct access to your property while you're not there. So how do you decide who to use, who do you trust, and how do you make the decision? From my fairly extensive research there appear to be a number of options. Do you go with your local plumber who offers such services ('he's ok for fixing a tap, but I'm not sure I'd trust him to manage such a big job')? Do you look for advertisements where people have relevant professional certificates ('how do I know what they're worth?'). Do you consult social media or comparison sites ('they may have got positive feedback but how do you know it's genuine?')? Or do you just go to the biggest showroom ('good to have everything under one roof, you're dealing with specialists, but of course you're paying for it'). One person I spoke to, took a different approach. He asked for quotes from four service providers, but it wasn't really about cost. He explained 'I wanted to meet them face to face to ensure they were the type of people I could do business with '.

Having heard all these comments and reservations I sometimes wonder how any of them make a decision. At the end of the day it comes down to trust, but what does that mean? Take the plumber example. You may trust someone to carry out day to day jobs, but does that mean they have the wider skills required to manage a project? They may advertise their services but rather than accept this messaging would you rather trust someone else's opinion and how many reviews are needed before you decide 'x percent can't be wrong'. And how important is the physical presence of a showroom in establishing credibility and reputation? Or do you choose someone who is 'your sort of person'?

Why is all of this relevant? At Glory we have recently been considering such issues as what is 'top of mind' when people choose a financial service provider. Who do they trust and why? There are a number of similarities with my home improvements conversations. Like the plumber example, consumers may trust their bank to carry out day to day transactions but when they are looking for financial advice on matters of great importance to them, they are looking for different levels of trust. Similarly, a large physical presence in the form of a high street branch may once have been important in establishing reputation to the extent that people trusted the bank to look after their money but is that enough?

Research from Celent indicates that there is a significant 'trust gap' in retail banking. Whereas 86 percent of customers say, 'I trust my bank', 44 percent conclude 'my bank doesn't understand me'. The challenge for the banks is how they bridge this gap and build emotional trust, to position themselves as a partner rather than just a provider of services. Motista research shows that the value of an emotionally connected customer is six times that of one who is 'highly satisfied' with banking services received. So how do banks convince customers that they understand their needs and that they've 'got their backs'? This is one of the issues we address in Glory's latest White Paper - Trust as a Commodity.