Trust Is a Clear Advantage of Family Businesses

Most people (70%) trust family businesses to do what is right, compared to 58% for publicly traded companies, according to Edelman’s Trust Barometer. However, many family businesses fail to capitalize on this natural advantage to develop trust, according to PwC’s Family Business Survey. While 78% of U.S. family businesses recognize trust as important, “only 52% believe their customers fully trust them.” 

Since families own most companies worldwide, many of your customers and suppliers are likely family businesses. Leveraging this common ground enables companies to build mutually beneficial relationships rooted in shared values and long-term goals.

A recent Harvard Business Review article outlines four main actions to build positive client-business relationships:

1. Lead with your family identity.
2. Embed family-to-family values across your ecosystem.
3. Cultivate multigenerational bonds.
4. Professionalize while preserving “familiness.”

A family-to-family strategy leverages the core strengths of family businesses, such as personal reputation, generational thinking, and values-based decision-making. This approach offers three key benefits: mutual commitment at the family level, inherited business relationships, and faster decision-making.