How to build rapport with customers—and earn their trust

Trust—and its cousin, rapport—is a powerful thing. It underpins everything from personal relationships to global commerce.

And while you might think of trust as a warm, fuzzy feeling, it's also a concrete business asset. According to research by PwC, 91% of customers are more likely to purchase from brands they trust, with 33% willing to pay a premium simply because of that sentiment.¹

On Spotify, advertisers have a unique opportunity to connect with users in a trusted environment. Recent research found that a full 81% of respondents trust Spotify—numbers that are significantly higher than platforms like Facebook (68%), Pandora (55%), TikTok (53%), X (53%), Snapchat (52%), Soundcloud (43%) and iHeart (40%).² What's more, 44% of respondents in an internal study said they feel happier and more relaxed after streaming audio on Spotify, which is 15% higher compared to how they feel after scrolling on social media.³

Below, we dive into the specifics of how to build trust with customers—as well as a few tips for building meaningful customer relationships via ads on Spotify.

Why building trust with customers matters

Business leaders already know that trust is critical. In a 2024 PwC study, 93% of surveyed executives recognized that building and maintaining trust improves the bottom line. Even more (95%) agreed that organizations have a responsibility to build trust.⁴

In short, trust-building is simply good practice for businesses of any shape or size. When customers trust a brand, they may feel more positively about spending their hard-earned dollars on that company's products and services.⁵ These positive associations have the potential to boost brand loyalty—or the number of people who become bona fide brand ambassadors, encouraging others to become customers.

Learning how to build trust with a customer can have ripple effects far and wide, including on revenue. After all, acquiring a new customer can be five times as expensive as retaining an existing one.⁶

5 ways to build rapport with customers

Building relationships with customers is a delicate balancing act. On one hand, you want to appear buttoned up and professional; on the other, you want your brand's authentic personality to shine through. Hitting the sweet spot often involves adding a human touch to any and all communications with your audience—including how you listen to them and respond to comments, concerns, and criticisms.

When looking for ways to boost your brand image online and in person, focus on these five ways to help build rapport with customers.

1. Learn the art of active listening.

Everybody wants to feel heard in a conversation—including your customers. In customer interactions, embrace the tenets of active listening. This involves not just hearing their words, but also understanding the underlying emotions and intentions. One way to do this is with sentiment analysis tools that can help your team monitor tone, choice of words, and the speed of customer responses. Such tools can provide deeper insights into customer satisfaction and engagement levels during online conversations.

2. Provide customer-centric experiences.

Nearly one-third (32%) of customers say they'd stop doing business with a brand they loved after just one bad experience.⁷ But even a bout of negative feedback is an opportunity to win over customers' hearts and minds. Brands that go above and beyond when addressing customers' concerns are well on their way to developing strong rapport. By moving swiftly to fix problems, companies can turn an initially negative experience into a trust-building exercise.

3. Personalise customer conversations and experiences.

When attempting to build rapport with customers, aim for a personalised approach—like using the customer's name or referring to previous purchases or interactions when you engage with them. Or, tailor product recommendations, offers, and content based on the customer's preferences, location, or purchase history. Research shows that 4 in 5 customers want personalised experiences from retailers,⁸ and 70% of consumers expect personalised responses when they contact brands on social media.⁹

4. Be open and honest.

Customers tend to appreciate proactive transparency. One study found that when brands are open about sensitive issues with their customers, it can have a positive impact on trust and brand loyalty.¹⁰ So if you make a mistake, own up to it rather than playing the blame game. Getting ahead of a potential issue can help you take control of the narrative and stay in customers’ good graces.

5. Use advertising to establish credibility.

Different types of advertising can help you build rapport with customers. Pay close attention to where your audience spends time so you can zero in on the most effective advertising opportunities. This might involve ads on social media, in a popular newsletter, or audio and video ads integrated into music playlists or podcasts that you think your audience would listen to.

How to build rapport with customers on Spotify: 3 tips

Below are three tips for increasing engagement and building rapport with customers on Spotify.

1. Tap into the power of podcasts' "halo effect."

Younger listeners are especially likely to trust content from podcasts they know and love. In fact, three in five Gen Zs in the U.S. believe podcasting is more trustworthy than other forms of media because it’s representative of more diverse voices and points of view.¹¹

With podcast ads, brands can benefit from the "halo effect" as listeners learn about products or services from their favourite hosts. Among Millennials and Gen Zs, 45% say when they hear an ad during a podcast, they trust the product or brand—in part because of the relationship they already have with the podcast hosts.¹²

2. Showcase your brand's unique personality.

Authentic representation can help create a genuine connection with your audience. Use Spotify’s ads manager to advertise alongside genres or themes that align with your brand’s personality, boosting the chances that your message lands with users who share similar interests.

Here, too, podcast ads can be a powerful tool. Over half of the audience reported that after hearing an ad on Spotify they took action—searched for the brand/product (57%), talked to a family member or friend about it (56%), or purchased the brand/product (51%).¹³

3. Leverage data-driven personalisation.

Spotify offers rich listener data, which can be used to personalise ads to match user preferences, behaviours, and habits. Spotify's ads manager enables brands to tailor messages to their target audience's musical tastes and daily routines.

Effective personalisation extends beyond mere musical preferences—Spotify's data can inform advertisers about peak listening times, device usage, and even preferred content types, allowing for more precise targeting. This granular approach can ensure that ads are not only relevant to Spotify users but also engaging.

A personalised approach to your media mix can help build trust and rapport by showcasing timely, relevant messages that resonate with users and make them feel truly "heard"—a critical element in today's marketing landscape, where customisation is closely tied to customer satisfaction.¹⁴

Harness the trust-building potential of Spotify's advertising solutions

While building trust with customers can feel like an elusive goal, there are proven strategies for building it from the ground up—and maintaining it once you establish rapport. Open communication, active listening, and attentive customer service are essential foundations.

Taking a personalised approach to your advertising strategy across ad formats can help you go the extra mile toward winning your customers over. Importantly, a multi-format approach that leverages the unique strengths of different ad types, like the "halo effect" of podcast ads, can supercharge your trust-building efforts.

For brands seeking to build and maintain relationships with customers, creating thoughtful, customised ad campaigns on Spotify, including intimate and impactful podcast ads, is one avenue to explore. When you're ready to take your brand's credibility to the next level, get started with Spotify's ads manager.