The Edelman Trust Barometer is a yearly study, conducted by the revered PR firm, of who is trusted and why. I had the opportunity to see a presentation of the 2010 data at the Atlanta Women’s Network luncheon this week.

One finding that surprised me is that trust in business is up dramatically since last year. I would have expected a small rise, but not a large one, following a precipitous dip in 2009. Edelman attributes this rise to business’ willingness to listen to and engage all their stakeholders—not just stockholders.

This is good news for marketers, in the aggregate. It means we are doing our jobs to respond to the public’s reaction to events such as government takeovers and bailouts that deflated trust in businesses a year ago. But our work isn't done. Edelman also finds that trust is fragile--the public expects corporations to return to "business as usual" once the economy bounces back. Can we exceed their expectations, and keep trust alive?

Another interesting finding: in 2006, strong financial performance ranked #3 as an indicator that a company could be trusted. By 2010, financial performance has dropped to #10. The public sees that not all profits are gained in a trustworthy way. Today, the public views transparent and honest practices as the #1 indicator of trustworthiness. Quality products and services, open communications, and good treatment of employees also rank high.

As B2B marketers, the Edelman survey validates the ways we might naturally react to news about Toyota and Goldman Sachs (It’s fascinating that the Edelman survey came out before these recent trust-busting events.) The public attributes the practices and problems of the companies in the news to all businesses. We don’t need to lead off the email newsletter with the press release about “2% increase in EBITDA.” Instead, we can build trust with content that personalizes the executives, establishes our integrity, and speaks the truth even when it isn’t good news. 

Read more here about the Edelman Trust Barometer.