What Is a Trust Score in Marketing?

Definition

A trust score in marketing is a quantitative measure of buyer certainty across defined behavioural checkpoints in the buying journey.

It evaluates structural stability prior to capital deployment.

A trust score may be expressed as a composite index, such as the Buyer Trust Score (0–100).

Purpose

A trust score exists to:

  • Quantify buyer certainty

  • Identify structural instability

  • Support capital allocation decisions

  • Reduce reliance on opinion-based marketing judgment

Trust must be measurable.

What a Trust Score Measures

A structural trust score measures:

  • Traffic relevance

  • Early engagement stability

  • Value proposition clarity

  • Conversion integrity

  • Early retention performance

  • Revenue expansion behaviour

Measurement must occur across defined control points.

See:
https://www.rammp.com/standards/trust-checkpoints

Distinction from Sentiment or Brand Scores

A trust score is not equivalent to:

  • Brand awareness

  • Net Promoter Score (NPS)

  • Customer satisfaction surveys

  • Social sentiment metrics

Sentiment measures perception.
A trust score measures behavioural stability within the buying journey.

Composite Trust Scoring

A trust score may be calculated as a weighted composite index.

Within the RAMMP framework, this is expressed as the Buyer Trust Score (BTS):

  • Scale: 0–100

  • Weighted across six Trust Checkpoints

  • Threshold-constrained

  • Version-controlled

See:
https://www.rammp.com/standards/buyer-trust-score

Governance Application

A trust score is used to:

  • Inform marketing budget approval

  • Govern capital expansion

  • Identify structural repair priorities

  • Trigger structured verdicts such as STOP / KEEP / FIX / PROVE

Trust measurement must precede capital amplification.

See:
https://www.rammp.com/standards/pre-spend-diagnostic

Risk Implications

Low trust score indicates:

  • Structural instability

  • Increased conversion volatility

  • Elevated capital exposure

  • Reduced revenue feasibility

High trust score indicates:

  • Structural stability

  • Scalable performance

  • Lower amplification risk

Summary

A trust score in marketing is a quantitative behavioural measure of buyer certainty.

It is not an opinion metric.
It is a structural stability indicator.

Trust must be measured before money is spent.