It’s possible to sell cheap stuff without building trust. You sell it on price or convenience. That’s how lawyers sell traffic ticket representation with letter writing campaigns. It’s cheap, it’s easy to buy, and the client isn’t required to do any legwork to make things happen.

Expensive things require more trust. When representation gets expensive, clients need to feel comfortable before authorizing a big charge on their account.

Some firms work to build trust. Others compete on price and convenience.

Low-end buyers don’t require much trust when they’re making a decision. They’ll buy without thinking very much, and they’re not especially worried about the quality of their decision because the price is so low.

When Trust Matters

But what happens when buyers are faced with a choice, even on a low-end purchase, between something they trust and something neutral?

Let’s talk soup: Campbell’s Soup, specifically. It’s about 89 cents a can.

Do you choose the Campbell’s Soup or the no-name soup?

Some products, even at the low end, have built a trusted brand.

What happens when one of your low-end, “affordable” competitors starts building trust?

Of course, you don’t need to worry, because building a brand like Campbell’s Soup requires spending a fortune on branding, and it takes years. You don’t have to worry about competing on trust, and you can stick with bus bench advertising, letter-writing, and click-to-call ads on Google.

Except that today, trust doesn’t require the expenditure of huge sums. Today, trust comes in inexpensive ways. It comes from client reviews on Google and Yelp. It comes from relevant, helpful articles on a law firm website. It comes from being the speaker at a Rotary Club meeting or on a YouTube channel. Trust doesn’t require big bucks anymore.

At the low end, you can get away without building trust. You can make it work, so long as no one else steps into your market and builds trust. And, of course, they’re coming. They know that trust sells. They know that trust works, and they know they can build trust without breaking the bank.

You’re standing in the grocery store. You need some soup. Which can are you going to put in your cart?