The Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 measured brand trust across 28 countries with 36,000 respondents. One of the strongest insights: 81% of consumers say they have to trust a brand to make a purchase. Not like it. Not understand it. Trust it.

The same study shows that once trust is established, consumers are 4.5x more likely to repurchase, 5.7x more likely to recommend the brand to others, and 3.8x more willing to pay premium prices. Taken together, trust is the single strongest driver of customer lifetime value (LTV) that exists.

Trust is the bedrock of business. Without it, transactions become negotiations, and negotiations are expensive.

Bain & Company, Customer Loyalty Report 2024

Brand Finance publishes a global brand value ranking every year. The 2025 report also analyzed the relationship between brand strength and pricing flexibility — the ability to charge a premium without losing market share.

The results showed that companies in the top quartile of brand strength (AAA or AA-rated) on average charge 29% higher prices than the industry average, have 40% lower customer acquisition cost, and see 18% fewer lost customers per year. These effects are cumulative — a stronger brand position today creates a stronger position tomorrow.

In Sweden, this is especially relevant. Swedish consumers are willing to pay more for Swedish brands that communicate transparency, sustainability, and authenticity. H&M, IKEA, Volvo, and Oatly are all examples of globally successful brands built on exactly these values.

Bain & Company has run a series of studies on the relationship between customer loyalty and profitability. One of the most cited conclusions: a 5% increase in customer retention raises profitability by 25–95%, depending on industry. The difference is explained by the fact that returning customers buy more, demand less service, and cost nothing to acquire.

The brand is the mechanism that creates these returning customers. Not just product quality — that’s a given — but the sense of belonging, identification, and trust that a strong brand creates. Patagonia is an extreme example: a study showed that 72% of Patagonia’s customers would actively campaign against the company if it changed its values, not just stop buying.

That is the brand’s ultimate effect: turning customers into advocates. And advocates are free marketing in its most powerful form.

Nielsen ran a 2024 global consumer study and found that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any form of paid advertising. Word-of-mouth is the most credible and cost-effective marketing channel that exists, and it’s driven by brand experiences worth sharing.

For a local or regional company, this is even more relevant. In Nordmaling, in Sundsvall, in Östersund, in every town and village in Sweden, the customer base is built first and foremost on reputation. And reputation is another word for brand.

• A customer who recommends you converts 5x more often than a customer who found you via an ad
• Referred customers have an 18% lower churn rate (NielsenIQ, 2024)
• Each positive recommendation is worth on average 14x its weight in paid marketing (Harvard Business Review, 2023)

Patagonia and Fjällräven are both outdoor brands in an intensely competitive market. Yet both are consistently more profitable, more loyal, and more talked about than their competitors — not despite their strong values, but because of them.

Patagonia publishes its supply chain openly. They donate 1% of revenue to environmental organizations. They have run campaigns with the message "Don’t buy this jacket" to push back against overconsumption. On paper, those moves should reduce sales. In reality, they’ve doubled them — because they create deep trust and tell a story customers want to be part of.

Fjällräven made a similar choice when they decided to gradually eliminate down from suppliers with poor animal welfare standards. The decision cost money in transition. But it strengthened the brand experience for an audience that values consistency and authenticity. Sales went up.

You don’t need Patagonia’s budget or Fjällräven’s history. But you do need to answer the same fundamental questions: What do we believe? What do we do differently? And how do we show it consistently in everything we do? Those answers are the core of every successful brand, whether it’s a global company or a local builder in northern Sweden.

Brand development is accessible to companies of every size. It doesn’t need to be a big and expensive project. Start with strategy: who you are and what you want to stand for. Then build a visual identity and communication strategy that a small team can actually execute. The result isn’t just a nice logo. It’s a foundation to grow from.