Wanting to build trust with your customers is not only a great ambition, but also something that can be crucial to your company’s success. Figures show that 83% of consumers are happy to recommend companies they trust. If customers have high confidence in a company, this generates positive ripples on the water and the company gets good advertising through word-of-mouth.
But how do you become a company that customers trust? Creating confidence is not something done over a coffee break or through a fancy campaign. It requires consistent behavior over time. But there are simple points to start thinking about. We have listed 5 things companies can work on to build trust.
1 Be honest and personal
The way you speak to your customers affects how you are perceived. Therefore, it is important to be honest in your marketing and on your website. If you drive traffic through clickbaits or try to take shortcuts, there is a great risk that customers will have low confidence in your brand directly.
Of course, there is a lot of time to save from using bots, forms and scripts to automatically generate information texts and answers to questions. But try to keep a personal touch on it. Try adding a smiley or write the answers in a way that feels like spoken language. We are in 2020 now, things usually does not have to be so rigid and formal.
The same goes for different scripts, it’s easy for the conversations to become stiff if salespeople or support speak after a written manuscript. Instead, encourage your employees to communicate in a way that feels natural to them. It will make a big difference in how your customers perceive your business.
2 Encourage the customer to submit reviews
It can feel scary to hear what your customers actually think about your product or service. But it is even more scary to have customers who are dissatisfied and not know this, so you can solve the problems. Encourage customers to submit reviews. It can be anything from getting customer surveys to rating a product between 1-5 or clicking on a smiley icon that shows how you experienced the service today. When you get, in black and white, what works and what doesn’t work, you have more opportunity to make the right choice going forward.
Also, do not remove all negative feedback. It’s easy to believe that negative feedback is only hurting your business. But the truth is that if you leave some of the negative feedback, credibility in all answers increases more. Instead, be clear that you have received the negative feedback. And imagine if you can show that you have made an improvement based on that feedback, then you really have the opportunity to build trust.
3 Don’t promise what you can’t keep
Almost all consumers have felt that a company have lied to them. The chances are that customers will then terminate their services or choose not to continue to buy from that company. Therefore, be careful not to promise more than your company can keep. Instead, imagine what a positive effect it will have if you deliver more than they expect.
For example, if it takes 7 days to deliver an item, then tell your customers that you can deliver in 10 days. This way you will not risk breaking a promise and the customer will instead be satisfied with the fast service when he or she receives when the item is delivered on the 7th day.
4 Focus on customer service and availability
Trust goes down quickly when customers encounter problems with your service or product. Many companies make the mistake of investing heavily in marketing and sales, but forget that customers must then be taken care of in order to retain them. If you lose a customer, chances are you will lose them forever.
Make sure you are available to the customer and let the customer reach you where he or she already is. Today, customers expect to be able to contact companies via phone and email, but also via social media and chats. Open up ways for your customers to contact your company, clearly state your support number on your website and invest in knowledgeable staff. Don’t just choose the most cost-effective way to solve the problem, but make sure you do everything to make your customers feel seen and satisfied.
5 Be visible and active socially
Today, we live a lot through social media and allowing your company to be seen on social media can be positive in several ways. Your brand becomes more visible and it gives customers a better idea of who you are and what you stand for. On social media you can be more flexible with quickly reaching out with information to your customers. You be visibel and show who you are.
Becoming a company with customers’ trust is, as said, nothing one can solve in a day. However, if you have the above points in mind when making a decision, you have the opportunity to create trust and thus gain a loyal customer base. Something that will ultimately be shown in your profitability.