Why Trust Must Be Earned Daily in 2025
Mike thrives on delivering data-driven recommendations and action plans to solve complex business problems. His international research experiences and consultative engagements typically include a mix of qualitative and quantitative techniques. As a well-versed moderator, Mike is focused on better understanding the B2B decision making process, mostly among high tech, telecom, and business service verticals. His expertise often finds him speaking at industry-related events and conferences on topics such as how to conduct research to support the creation of thought leadership content and how emotions influence B2B decision making. Mike's out-of-office passions include global travel, improving his golf game, and sampling Syracuse's rising food scene - which is better than you might think!
2025 is rife with economic flux, regulatory upheavals, and geopolitical friction. Stability is a premium currency. Clients, more than ever, say they crave trusted partners. But let’s not confuse familiarity with loyalty.
Familiarity ≠ Loyalty
The hard truth? Clients will walk, even from firms they’ve worked with for years, if trust is not continuously earned. As market researchers and consultants at KS&R, we hear this message loud and clear in our work with clients across industries: consistent value, seamless collaboration, and a deeply human connection are non-negotiable. The moment we lose sight of that, we risk irrelevance.
Why Clients Are Quietly Reconsidering Their Partnerships
Despite a recent survey showing that only 1% of clients prefer to use new firms, a striking 66% have reduced their use of a previously favored provider. That disconnect tells a bigger story.
The reasons are telling and deeply human:
• Solutions fell short. It’s not just about smart answers; it’s about real-world fit, business outcomes, and responsiveness.
• Key contacts left. Relationships built over time don’t always transfer with the brand. Trust is personal.
• Difficult to work with. In today’s hybrid, fast-moving work world, frictionless collaboration isn’t a perk—it’s table stakes.
• Offerings felt narrow. Modern business challenges don’t live in silos. Clients want thinking—and teams—that cut across functions, disciplines, and problems that they are trying to solve for.
The Myth of the “Safe” Incumbent
Our point of view is simple: no client is a guaranteed client. And we’re okay with that because it challenges us to be better every day.
Firms that take for granted legacy relationships instead of deepening them risk falling into complacency. Multidisciplinary strength isn’t just about having diverse capabilities. It’s about knowing how to integrate them to deliver insight-rich, agile, and future-forward guidance.
The most loyal clients are the ones who feel known, heard, and proactively supported. Not those who simply haven’t gotten around to exploring other options.
What Success Looks Like in 2025
If you want your clients to stay (or even grow with you) here’s what we believe it takes:
1. Trust as a Living Practice
Don’t assume trust; nurture it. That means showing up with candor, humility, and rigor in every interaction. Clients don’t just remember the wins. They remember how they felt along the way.
2. Breadth + Depth, Delivered Seamlessly
Offer multidisciplinary value not as a menu selection, but as a mindset. Our teams collaborate deeply to tackle multi-dimensional challenges in healthcare, tech, retail, and beyond.
3. Make It Personal
Our model prioritizes client intimacy. Not as a sales tactic but as a partnership ethos. When team members change, we prioritize continuity and care in transition. Because losing a familiar face shouldn’t mean losing momentum.
4. Proactive Curiosity
Clients aren’t always actively searching for new providers—but they are receptive to new ideas. The best way to grow isn’t to pitch harder. It’s to listen better. Thoughtful outreach, grounded in understanding your client’s market, can spark conversations that others miss.
Our Challenge to the Industry
Let’s stop asking: “How can we keep clients from leaving?”
Let’s start asking: “What are we doing every day to re-earn their trust?”
Because loyalty isn’t given. It’s built.
About KS&R
KS&R is a nationally recognized strategic consultancy and marketing research firm that provides clients with timely, fact-based insights and actionable solutions through industry-centered expertise. Specializing in Technology, Business Services, Entercom & Recreation, Healthcare, Retail & E-Commerce, and Transportation & Logistics verticals, KS&R empowers companies globally to make smarter business decisions. For more information, please visit www.ksrinc.com.
