Why product trust matters in distribution

VC Diaries - 93 : I am now convinced that the startups that will win the next decade will not be the best engineering teams, but the most effective trust distribution networks. We have the technology to build almost anything at effective costs now - Thanks to AI and more. But that tech sits on one side of a deep chasm, while the user stands on the other, shrouded in a fog of doubt. "Who do I call if something goes wrong?" "Will I get what I paid for?" "Is this a scam?" These are the real barriers to scale. Think about the early days of e-commerce. The feature that truly unlocked the market wasn't a better search algorithm or a slicker UI. It was 'Cash on Delivery'. COD was never a payment feature - it was a trust feature. It was a guarantee delivered to the customer's doorstep, a bridge across the chasm of uncertainty. It said, "You don't have to believe our app, just believe your own eyes". Founders obsess over new features while ignoring the leaks in their trust pipeline. A user hesitating on the payment page is not thinking about whether you have one more feature than the competition. They are weighing the probability of disappointment. Every rupee you spend on a generous return policy, a clearer onboarding process, or a responsive human support team directly reduces this uncertainty. You need a 'Trust Roadmap' alongside your 'Product Roadmap'. Systematically map out every point of user anxiety and build a feature or a process to eliminate it. This is the real work. Beyond a point, asking "What can we build next?" is going to drive less impact than asking "What uncertainty can we remove next?". In India, the company that is easiest to believe in will always be the company that wins. What do you think? Do share below in the comments. .. PS: 1 - If you are an early-stage founder and align with all I shared above, do share details of what you are building with us at deals@dexter.ventures 2 - I have started to share my learnings as a VC more proactively here, with a note coming out every morning 8.30am. And I would love to get inputs. Thanks, Anuradha Aggrawal | Dexter Ventures

Distribution is always rate limited by credibility. Think about it. When every channel is saturated, every buyer is inundated, and every ad screams for attention, how do people decide who to trust? They don’t just evaluate what you’re selling—they assess who you are. One key question for founders and marketing leaders, even before scaling marketing efforts, is: How are you going to build credibility? There are only so many ways to fast-track trust: >Your customers: Nothing speaks louder than real stories and use cases from people who’ve used your product. >Your team: Human connection is powerful. Platforms like LinkedIn give teams a voice, and people trust people. >Third-party validation: Review sites and analysts still hold sway in some corners, but buyers have wised up to pay-to-play games. Buyers today are savvier than ever. They ask: “Why should I believe you? Why should I follow you?” Having a distribution edge in a channel isn’t enough anymore. You need trust signals that cut through the noise: 📢 Customer stories 📚 Use case libraries ✅ Trust badges and reviews 🌟 Social proof 👁️ Unique brand point of view and perspective These might feel like foundational components of marketing, but they’re more critical than ever. Because when your competitors are just as loud as you are, the who becomes the differentiator. So ask yourself—does your marketing not only stand out but stand up?

In every market, someone is selling what you sell. But not everyone is building what you’re building. We process food, but processing alone no longer moves the market. In a country like Nigeria, where shelves are packed and attention is short, the game changer is trust. And trust doesn’t come from product alone. It comes from positioning, from story, from experience. Over the years, working in Nigeria’s food processing ecosystem has taught me one thing: people don’t just buy food. They buy peace of mind. That woman in Wuse choosing your ripe banana powder isn’t just buying taste. She’s looking for trust. She wants something safe for her family. If you don’t speak to her reality, someone else will. Start with one thing. Don’t try to be a full aisle in your first year. If your strength is dried fruit, build it. Make it unforgettable, because in crowded markets, focus wins. Don’t sleep on packaging. From Lekki supermarkets to corner stores in Ibadan, your packaging does the talking before you ever say a word. If it doesn’t look like quality, it won’t be treated like quality. Tell your story. Whether you started in a family kitchen or pivoted from frustration with overprocessed imports, share it. People don’t connect with perfection; they connect with truth. Your journey, your grit, your reasons, they matter, share it. Customers today are not just asking what you sell. They’re asking why you exist. And if your WHY resonates, your product gets a seat at their table. Customer service is not an afterthought. In this space, it’s the future for any brand that wants to survive. A delayed order can cost you shelf space. A warm reply can turn a one-time buyer into a brand ambassador. The brands that grow are the ones that follow up, show up, and stay human even as they scale. Let your process speak for itself. Clean facilities, transparent sourcing, safe handling don’t just tell us, show us. Trust in food is built visually. One short behind-the-scenes clip can earn more confidence than ten price discounts. If your egg powder lasts longer without additives, highlight it. If your freeze-dried fruit snacks retain nutrients better, prove it. The best products don’t whisper, they communicate clearly, consistently, and confidently. As you grow, teach through content, packaging, and feedback. Teach your customers how to use your product, store it, and trust it. In this ecosystem, education and information build influence, and influence builds brands. We’ve learned this firsthand. In Nigeria, shelf life used to mean artificial preservatives, but we took a different path, through our unique drying process, we’ve found a way to extend freshness without compromise. No additives, no preservatives, just food that’s safe, nutritious, and proudly processed here at home in Naija. Don’t just aim to be seen. Aim to be trusted. That’s what makes the difference between a product and a business and between a business and a legacy.

Analyst reports might get you on the shortlist in the enterprise. Trust gets you the deal. A fancy logo wall might get you a demo. A bunch of Gartner badges might get you a second meeting. A big-name case study or two might get you into procurement. But none of that guarantees a ‘[Name] has signed the DocuSign’ email in your inbox. Enterprise buying isn’t just about picking the best product. It’s about making the safest bet. The decision that won’t come back to bite them. The one leadership won’t question. That’s why trust isn’t just sales’ job. It’s marketing’s job, too. Buyers aren’t just evaluating your product. They’re deciding whether they believe you. So this year, we're focused on building trust everywhere we show up: - Are we proving real outcomes or just making bold claims that no one believes? - Do buyers see and understand how our product fits and thrives in their world? - Are we making it easier for buyers to say yes or just adding more noise? - Where can we be more honest, even if it means admitting we’re not the best fit? Trust is what turns pipeline into revenue. And if your marketing isn’t building it, you’re losing deals before they ever reach sales.

It might sound surprising but most startups die because they are busy chasing product-market fit while ignoring trust-market fit. It's fascinating how we obsessively track CAC, retention, MRR, and growth metrics in our board meetings. But, what actually drives these numbers is ‘User Trust’, which is not found on any dashboard. This hits particularly hard when you're asking for a share of someone's wallet. Now it can be either a customer choosing your product or an investor investing (betting in many cases) in your startup – you're essentially asking them to trust you with their money. The keyword here is ‘Trust’. The thing about trust in startups is that it follows a peculiar pattern. • Your initial users trust you based on your promise. • Your early investors back you based on your vision. However, over a period of time, when we talk about building sustainable trust, that only comes through relentless execution. Day after day. Execution is everything. Every day, we're constantly refining our product and message. Things break - that's startup life. But it's how we handle these moments that matters. Being transparent when things go wrong builds more trust than getting everything right. Own up to mistakes, fix them fast, and if you can, add a little extra to ease any inconvenience. If we think of the most successful customer-centric businesses today, their growth is a direct result of consistently delivering on their promise. Because getting people to use your product is easy. Keeping trust is the real challenge. It’s a slow game, but it pays off in the long run. How do you respond when a mistake impacts user trust? Do you address it head-on or let time smooth things over? StockGro Linkedln #business #product #market