The “personal brands” of company founders may play an outsized role in consumers’ decisions to spend money with a business. A study by the Brand Builders Group found that 67 percent of Americans would be willing to spend more money on products and services from the companies of founders whose personal brand aligns with their own personal values.

The survey of 1,000 adults, ranging from Gen Z to boomers, found that 82 percent of Americans also agree that companies are more influential if their executives have a personal brand they know and follow.

The effects observed by Brand Builders Group were more pronounced among younger consumers. millennials and Gen Z place a high emphasis on personal branding in determining what they buy, where they work, who they listen to, who they recommend, who they hire, who they vote for and even who they date. Comparatively, 76 percent of older millennials—those born between 1977 and 1986—say they “are more likely to buy from someone who has an established personal brand” while only 33 percent of boomers responded the same way.

The survey also found that personal branding can build trust. Results show that 74 percent of all Americans feel that they “are more likely to trust someone who has an established personal brand.”

“The study confirmed some hypotheses we already had in place, but what we didn't predict is that these impacts extend far beyond that of just ‘coaches and consultants’ or ‘online influencers,’” says AJ Vaden, CEO and co-founder of Brand Builders Group. “It turns out that most Americans believe it’s important for their lawyer, financial advisor, banker, insurance agent, real estate agent and several other key professional service providers—including their doctor—to have an established personal brand.”