It may be time for brands to get back to basics in their email marketing. Above all, they should stop thinking that influencers can help them build trust, judging by a new study from Bluecore, conducted by Dynata.

Overall, 41% of consumers would be motivated to trust a brand by a successful purchase experience. 

In addition, 22% would be swayed by good customer service and 22% by time spent using the product and having it meet expectations. 

In contrast, only 10% would be persuaded by recommendations from friends or family, and a mere 6% by trusted influencers or celebrities. So don’t waste time on the latter in emails. 

Millennials would be favorably affected by a successful customer service episode — 29% say so, along with 24% of Gen Zers, 20% of Gen Xers and 18% of boomers. 

Willingness to trust a brand also depends on these factors, which are traditionally featured in emails:

• Price — 68%
• Reviews — 53%
• Brand values — 43%
• Company size — 21%
• Company origin/location — 20%
• Communication of how data is used — 20%
• Other — 2%

What causes consumers to lose trust in a brand? The turnoffs include:

• Faulty product — 28%
• Poor customer service experience — 26%
• Inadequate purchase experience — 21%
• Acceptable product, just not suited for me— 11%
• Negative reviews from friends/family — 6%
• Poor or irrelevant digital communications — 4% 
• Review from influencer — 2%
• Other — 2%

But it depends on age. Of the consumers polled, 40% of boomers would lose trust in a brand after a poor product or customer service experiences, versus 26% of Gen Xers, 24% of millennials and 21% of the Gen Z cohort.  

Dynata surveyed 522 U.S. consumers in a two-week period in first-quarter 2021.