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The Product Credibility Crisis
How credibility has become the ultimate product differentiator.
Elliott Rayner
July 31, 2025
How to Create and Communicate Product Credibility.
What you will learn…
Part One - Why credibility has never been so relevent.
Part Two - Five ways to create credibility.
Part Three - Five Case studies of brand who do it best
Part Four - How to make credibility a differentiator.
Part One
The Credibility Crisis
We’re living through a credibility crisis. Audiences are bombarded by over 120 emails a day, thousands of ads, and an endless scroll of social posts. Add in the rise of AI-generated content and misinformation, and the result is a skeptical, attention-fatigued audience. One recent study found that 62% of consumers distrust content they know was generated by AI.
Since the beginning of 2025, over 15,000 new AI brands have emerged. Each one with product features, taglines, and promotional stories flooding an already saturated market. Customers are overwhelmed. Information overload has become the new default state.
The MarTech Map 2025
This deluge has created a wave of cynicism. Once-powerful phrases like “AI-powered” or “game-changing” have been diluted into noise. Promises sound the same. Differentiation blurs. And in this grey fog of sameness, the burden of proof has shifted onto the brand.
Product marketers must recognize this shift. The challenge is no longer just to stand out—but to be believed. To channel credibility from unique, demonstrable sources that speak louder than hype. Because trust is no longer a default setting—it has to be earned, one story at a time.
Science Backs This Up
Neuroscience has shown that stories rooted in empathy and evidence trigger the parts of the brain linked to trust and memory. And behavioral psychology tells us that we trust stories more than statistics—but we trust stories most when they’re backed by outcomes.
In short: a story alone isn’t enough. It needs proof. It requires belief.
Part Two
Channeling Credibility: 5 Levers to Pull
Jeff Bezos once said, "Voting machines must meet two requirements. They must count the vote accurately, and people must believe they count the vote accurately." The same principle applies to products. It's no longer enough to have the best product in the market—you need to make people believe you have the best product. That belief doesn’t just influence perception; it drives adoption. And shaping that belief is the real job of product marketing.
It doesn’t matter how emotional or well-structured your story is—if people don’t trust it, it fails. Aristotle called this ethos: credibility as a pillar of persuasion. Credibility gives weight to your logic and emotion. Without it, even the best stories feel hollow.
This is especially true in product marketing. You’re not just telling a story about what your product does—you’re asking people to change how they work, what they buy, or what they believe. That’s a high bar for trust.The 5 Sources of Credibility
In your keynote, you identified five distinct sources of credibility that marketers can—and must—leverage in their storytelling:
Source | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
Legacy | A proven track record creates immediate trust. People believe what’s endured. |
Relevance | If your story doesn’t speak to the audience’s world right now, it gets ignored. |
Reach | The more visible and recognized you are, the more credible you appear. |
Authenticity | Transparent, honest, emotionally true stories are the ones people believe. |
Results | Undeniable proof—quantified, qualified, verified—removes doubt. |
Credibility is rarely built in a single story. It accumulates across every interaction—what you say, what you show, and what others say about you."Someone gets into trouble, then gets out of it, people love that story, they never get tired of it.
Part Three
Communicating Credibility
Too often, product marketing sounds like a company talking about itself. Features. Awards. Internal logic. It might be true—but it doesn’t feel believable. The most credible stories don’t start with the company. They start with the customer.
No exaggeration. No gloss. Just a clear transformation.
| Choose Your Channel…  REACH: UberEat levergaing the user reach of uber to create credibility  OUTCOME: Oatly using transparency to gain instant credibility  AUTHORITY: Brands like Hoostuire create their own acadmies to amplify their credibility as experts  Results: Monday showing clear tangible results between them and their key compeitors’s  Animation: Figjams landing page shows their products in action instead of listing endless features |
Part Four - Practical Steps
How to Build Credibility into Your Product Storytelling
Audit Your 5 Sources
Which of the five are you currently leveraging? Which are missing?
Prove Every Claim
Use numbers, customer quotes, case studies. Don’t tell people you’re credible—show them.
Be Human
Authenticity means admitting what didn’t work, not just what did. Vulnerability builds trust.
Tell the Full Journey
Don’t just share the "after" picture. Show the struggle. Make the outcome feel earned.
Repeat with Consistency
Credibility compounds. It’s built across campaigns, not single moments.
The Bottom Line
Credibility isn’t claimed, it’s earned. And the fastest way to earn it? Proactively address customer concerns. Brands that act before they’re asked don’t just solve problemsm they build trust and lasting relationships.
Credibility requires proactive concern‑management. Because if they don’t believe you, they won’t buy from you.
